About Senator Oberweis

Jim Oberweis has served in the Illinois Senate since January 2013.

He serves as Republican spokesperson for the Labor Committee and for the Environment and Conservation Committee for the 101st General Assembly.  He is also a member of the Commerce and Economic Development, Executive, Revenue, and Transportation committees.

Senator Oberweis also serves as Senate Republican Whip, appointed in January 2019 by Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady to work closely with the rest of the Leadership team on guiding legislation and setting policy. He was first appointed as Senate Republican Whip in October 2018.

The 25th District Senator has also been asked to continue serving on the Legislative Audit Commission, which is responsible for the oversight of the State Audit Program, review of the stewardship of public funds, and the monitoring action to correct weaknesses disclosed by the audits of state agencies.

Jim is a successful entrepreneur, family man, and common-sense conservative.  He is an entrepreneur with a proven track record of job and wealth creation.  Over the course of his four-decade career as a small-businessman, he’s helped create thousands of jobs right here in Illinois.  He knows firsthand how high taxes and burdensome regulations can prevent businesses from expanding and creating the new jobs we need, and he is committed to reforming Illinois government to help create a more growth-friendly environment.

A resident of Sugar Grove, Jim is a native and lifelong resident of the Fox Valley.  He graduated from Marmion Military Academy before going on to earn a B.A. from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and, later, an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

After graduating from the University of Illinois, he took his first job as a math and science teacher at Waldo Junior High School in Aurora.  Soon thereafter, he launched a career in the financial services industry, eventually launching three no-load mutual funds.  Today, Oberweis Asset Management manages approximately $3 billion in growth stock assets.

Jim also serves as the Chairman of Oberweis Dairy, a business founded by Jim’s grandfather, Peter, who began delivering milk to his Aurora neighbors in 1915.  Thirty years ago, Jim purchased the family business and developed and implemented a successful strategy for growth.  Under Jim’s leadership, the Dairy has grown from a small home delivery company with one ice cream store and 50 employees, to 40 ice cream stores and four TBJ stores with more than 1,200 employees.  During that time frame, annual sales have increased more than fifteen-fold.

In both of these entrepreneurial ventures, Jim has learned first-hand the joys and struggles of the small-business owner, as he has gone about creating jobs, growing the economy, and ensuring that expenses don’t run ahead of revenues.

Jim’s life experiences have led him to be a common-sense conservative: pro-life, pro-2nd Amendment, pro-tax cut, pro-spending cut, and pro-growth.  Jim believes we must secure our borders and end illegal immigration.  He is determined to cut the special-interest pork and end wasteful government spending, and will stand up for traditional cultural values.

Jim is well-known for his philanthropic endeavors.  More than two decades ago, he established the Oberweis Foundation as a charitable trust created to help children and adults in difficult economic circumstances, such as those served by Hesed House, Project Hood, and the Northern Illinois Food Bank, on whose Board of Directors Jim serves.

In addition, Jim serves as a member of the Board of Directors of The Oberweis Funds and formerly served on the board of Colborne Foodbotics and as Chairman of the Board of Diamond Marketing Solutions.

Jim is married, and his wife Julie works with him at Oberweis Dairy.  He has five adult children, two adult stepchildren, and 20 grandchildren, most of whom call Illinois home.