Meet Jim Oberweis
Jim Oberweis is a proven entrepreneur, philanthropist, and common-sense conservative with a lifelong record of leadership in business, public service, and the Republican Party.
A native of Aurora, Illinois, Jim graduated from Marmion Military Academy and earned a B.A. from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, followed by an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He went on to build a successful career in financial services—launching an investment advisory publication, founding a stock brokerage firm, and creating a family of no-load mutual funds. Today, Oberweis Asset Management oversees approximately $4 billion in growth stock assets.
Jim also served as Chairman of Oberweis Dairy until 2022—a family business started in 1915 by his grandfather and made famous by his father for “the richest ice cream in the world.” Under Jim’s leadership, the brand expanded to 40 retail stores. The company is now owned by the Hoffmann family of Naples, Florida and Illinois.
Throughout his career, Jim has remained a passionate advocate for conservative values. In 2004, he became one of the earliest candidates in America to spotlight illegal immigration as a national security issue, famously airing a TV ad that cited the weekly volume of illegal border crossings as equivalent to filling every seat in Soldier Field every week. That bold stance earned national attention and set the tone for future debates, angering liberal media across the country.
In 2012, Jim was elected to the Illinois State Senate, where he rose to Republican Whip and consistently pushed for fiscal responsibility, term limits, and tax reform. In 2014, he won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate and gave Senator Dick Durbin the closest race of his career, winning 88 of Illinois’ 102 counties—a testament to his broad grassroots support across the state.
He was endorsed by President Donald Trump in his 2020 run for Congress which he appeared to have won on election night against the incumbent Democrat. But Illinois continued to count late arriving mail in ballots.
After that experience, Jim and his wife Julie, to whom he has been married for 18 years, settled full-time in Bonita Springs, Florida, where they had owned a condo for over 16 years. Together, they have a blended family of seven children and 26 grandchildren.
Now, with Congressman Byron Donalds running for Governor, Jim was asked to run for Congress by friends and neighbors because he believes America must restore fiscal discipline, protect its borders, and defend traditional values. He’s running to support President Trump and help get our government back on sound financial footing.
