Schilling ad blames Hare for job losses

Schilling began airing a new television ad that takes the Rock Island congressman to task for job losses in the district, including using the old Seaford Clothing plant in Rock Island, where Hare worked for 13 years, as a backdrop.

The ad uses editing techniques to literally place Hare’s name, as well as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s, on the shuttered factories themselves.

“Phil Hare was here. Now our jobs are gone,” the ad’s narrator says.

She later adds Hare is trying to save his job but he “should have tried saving ours.”

The ad continues the debate between the two campaigns over the economy and which party’s policies are to blame for job losses.

The Seaford example is particularly cutting.

In 2009, the Rock Island congressman fought with Wells Fargo over the bankruptcy of Hartmarx, Seaford’s Chicago-based parent company.

Hare accused the bank, a major creditor, of working to liquidate Hartmarx rather than allow its sale to London-based Emerisque Brands and the North America unit of Mumbai-based SKNL.

The firms had said they would keep the plants open. But while the sale eventually got done, at the last minute, the Seaford plant was closed anyway, with more than 300 workers losing their jobs.

A Hare spokesman Wednesday called the ad disingenuous.

“For his entire adult life, Congressman Hare has fought against the tax and trade policies that have driven good-paying Illinois manufacturing jobs overseas,” Tim Schlittner said.

He said “no amount of video editing can change the fact that Mr. Schilling is the candidate of outsourcing.”

Five plants are featured in the ad, according to the Schilling campaign. But two of them — Maytag in Galesburg and the old Case IH plant in East Moline — closed before Hare was elected.

Asked about that, Schilling spokesman Bobby Frederick said Hare has been “involved with the inner workings of Congress for 28 years.”

He was the district director for former Rep. Lane Evans, D-Ill., between 1982 and 2006.

Meanwhile Wednesday, the Service Employees International Union plunged into the 17th District race, announcing it’s buying $317,000 worth of television time to target Schilling for his trade ideas.

The ad says that Illinois lost 150,000 jobs under the North American Free Trade Agreement and that Schilling backs other free trade deals like it, such as the proposed pact with Korea.

Frederick responded to that ad, saying it’s Democratic policies, including a cap-and-trade bill, which Hare voted for, that are threatening Illinois’ business climate.

“This election is about Phil Hare’s record,” he said. “It’s been bad for Illinois.”

The service employees union is the second non-party group to have entered the 17th District race.

The conservative American Future Fund has said it’s investing $500,000 on ads targeting Hare. The political arms of the House Republicans and Democrats also have advertised in the race.

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