Jim Oberweis

James D. Oberweis (born June 10, 1946) is an American businessman, investment manager, and politician from the state of Illinois.

In 1968, Oberweis became a junior high school teacher at Waldo Junior High in Aurora, teaching math and science.

In 1970, he changed careers and became an investment stockbroker.

Within a few years, he was promoted to manager of a branch office.

In 1976, he began publication of an investment newsletter, the Oberweis Report, which reported on emerging growth companies.

The Report was rated highly among investment advice newsletters.

In 1978, Oberweis and his first wife, Elaine, established their own investment management company, Oberweis Securities in Aurora, Illinois.

His father, Joe, had died in 1984, and Joe's successor (and Jim's older brother) John suffered an incapacitating stroke in 1986; after Jim's purchase he turned day-to-day operations over to outside presidents who embarked on acquisition programs highly leveraged with debt.

In 1986, Oberweis purchased and assumed control of family business Oberweis Dairy.

In 1987, he founded Oberweis Emerging Growth Fund.

Elaine Oberweis (University of Chicago MBA '89) left the brokerage business in 1989 to rescue the dairy business from near-ruin.

He remained active in the investment field.

In 1989, he established Oberweis Asset Management (OAM).

OAM specializes in "small-cap growth equities investing", and has individual accounts for institutional investors and a family of mutual funds for individual investors.

He sought the Republican nomination for the United States Senate in 2002 and 2004, and the Republican nomination for Governor of Illinois in 2006.

In 2002, Oberweis sought the Republican nomination for U.S. Senator, but lost in the primary, finishing second of three with 31%.

A franchise program began in 2004, to expand the dairy business outside of northeast Illinois.

Oberweis became a financial news anchor and host of the show Catching Winners Early on the Financial News Network.

In Chicago, Oberweis became a regular guest on the Ask an Expert show.

Oberweis was also a popular guest on CNBC, CNN, and Bloomberg TV.

Oberweis ran for Senator again in 2004, but again lost in the primary, finishing second of seven with 24%.

Soon after the primary, the winner, Jack Ryan withdrew due to personal scandal.

Some Republicans felt that as the second-place finisher, Oberweis should replace Ryan, but the state central committee chose Alan Keyes instead.

Keyes lost to Barack Obama by the largest margin for the Illinois U.S. Senate race in history.

Oberweis's 2004 campaign was notable for a television commercial in which he flew in a helicopter over Chicago's Soldier Field and claimed enough illegal immigrants came into America in a week (10,000 a day) to fill the stadium's 61,500 seats.

During his 2004 Senate campaign, Oberweis appeared in television commercials for Oberweis Dairies.

He was the Republican nominee for Illinois's 14th congressional district in a March 2008 special election and the November 2008 general election, losing on both occasions to Democrat Bill Foster.

In 2012, Oberweis was first elected to the Illinois Senate in the 25th district.

Oberweis has sought elective office seven times, succeeding in the 2012 race for the 25th State Senate district seat.

His record of unsuccessful election campaigns earned him the nickname of "the Milk Dud".

The owner of Oberweis Dairy in North Aurora near Chicago, he served as a member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 25th district from 2013 to 2021.

Oberweis has been a perennial candidate for higher office.

He again ran for the U.S. Senate in 2014, losing to Democratic incumbent Dick Durbin.

As of 2015, OAM had about $2 billion under management.

Oberweis moved the Oberweis Dairy from Aurora to its present location in North Aurora.

He also began a chain of company-owned dairy stores, and has maintained a dairy delivery business to homes in the Chicago area.

In 2020, Oberweis ran for a third time in the 14th congressional district, this time losing to Democratic incumbent Lauren Underwood.

After graduating from Marmion Academy in Aurora, Illinois, he attended the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where he joined Phi Kappa Tau fraternity.

He spent a year abroad, studying at Technische Hochschule Darmstadt.

He received a Bachelor of Arts from Illinois, and then a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago.