In a talk-radio interview on WJOL this morning, 11th District GOP congressional candidate Marty Ozinga addressed a controversial proposal to sell the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern (EJ&E) Railway to Canadian National Railway (CN). Ozinga has shied away from the publicly-unpopular issue on the campaign trail. However, as we pointed out yesterday, it came to light this week that Ozinga Transportation -- a subsidiary of his company Ozinga Bros. -- was as an early supporter of the deal. On WJOL, Ozinga offered this rather murky response, doing little to clarify exactly where he stands on the proposal:

Internal mp3

OZINGA: I have the same concerns as everyone else that's affected by this and that's that the issues and the impact of this be addressed and be addressed to the satisfaction and adequately so that the quality of life in our cities and towns that are along these tracks is not adversely affected. That's a big concern and something that as a representative for this district I have to work hard to, a, support the people and make sure that all these issues are addressed satisfactorily.

Capitol Fax's Rich Miller also pressed the Ozinga campaign for a hard-and-fast position on the deal and got this in return:

Marty wants the concerns of the affected communities addressed before anything moves forward. That’s his position.

Miller's response: "Clear as mud?"

Meanwhile, Democratic candidate Debbie Halvorson has aligned herself with opponents of the railway sale and is capitalizing on Ozinga Transportation's support of the EJ&E sale as a way to distinguish herself. Her campaign is circulating an April 1 letter that she and a bipartisan group of state legislators signed which clearly states their opposition to the deal.

"Marty Ozinga is playing games with voters," Halvorson campaign manager Brian Doory said via press release. "Why does he refuse to put his mouth where his money is? Until he does, one thing is clear: Marty Ozinga is only representing his own bottom line."

CORRECTION: This post originally attributed the concluding quote to Halvorson herself, rather than her campaign manager.