Kendall County Times

Jim Marter, Chairman of the Kendall County Republican Party and a candidate for the 14th Congressional District, singled out his opponent incumbent U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) —for casting a ‘no’ vote on the GOP-authored House Resolution 798. The resolution, aimed at condemning support for terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah in institutions of higher education, is meant to address hostile environments for Jewish students, faculty and staff.

Among members of Congress 396 cast yes votes, 23 cast no votes, including Underwood, and 14 members chose not to vote.

“Of the 23 no votes, four came from Illinois Democrats: Garcia, Ramirez, Jackson and my opponent, Lauren Underwood,” Marter said in a press release. “There is a pattern of hostility towards a religious minority with these actions and it stands in contrast to my being on the right side of this issue.”

“One only needs to check the press releases on my website to see I’m consistent in standing against anti-Semitism and religious bigotry. The no vote from my opponent stunned and angered many of her supporters and I welcome them to join my team as we stand unified, against this growing threat on our campuses and in many Democrat run cities.”

The language of the resolution specifically addresses "antisemitism" in higher education. It reads: "This resolution condemns the support of Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist organizations at institutions of higher education, which may lead to the creation of a hostile environment for Jewish students, faculty, and staff." The resolution also calls upon campus administrators to condemn all forms of antisemitism on college campuses and ensure that Jewish faculty, students, and guests enjoy free speech rights without intimidation. Furthermore, it advocates for enforcing federal civil rights laws to protect Jewish students from antisemitism.

Marter is an experienced IT professional with over three decades of experience in the information technology and services industry. His LinkedIn profile reveals that he has held key roles in business process design, quality management, IT strategy, and SAP ERP, specializing in Quality Management and Supply Chain Logistics. Since April 2012, Marter has been serving as a SAP QM Platinum Consultant at QMS, Inc., demonstrating expertise in business process improvement, management consulting, quality assurance, system configuration, and product quality. He is also the CEO of Marter Enterprises, LLC, an information technologies company based in the Greater Chicago Area.

The 14th Congressional District encompasses Kendall County, the southern half of DeKalb County, northern LaSalle County, northeast Putnam County, and parts of Will, Kane and Bureau Counties. The district is currently represented by U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.), who has been serving since 2019 according to congress.gov.