Robert Todd Schilling (January 23, 1964 – April 6, 2021) was an American businessman and politician who served as a
U.S. Representative for from 2011 to 2013. Schilling was a member of the
Republican Party
Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party.
Republican Party may also refer to:
Africa
* Republican Party (Liberia)
*Republican Party ...
. Schilling challenged incumbent
Democrat Phil Hare in the
2010 election and defeated him by ten points.
In the 2012 election, he was defeated by
Democrat Cheri Bustos
Cheryl Lea Bustos ( ; née Callahan; born October 17, 1961) is an American journalist, healthcare executive, and politician who is the U.S. representative from Illinois's 17th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party ...
. In 2014, he ran for his former seat but lost again to Bustos.
After relocating from Illinois to Iowa, he again ran for public office in
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
for
Iowa's 2nd congressional district
Iowa's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers most of its southeastern part. It includes Davenport, Iowa City, Muscatine, Clinton, Burlington, Ottumwa, Fort Madison, Oskaloosa, Bettend ...
. He lost the Republican primary to state senator
Mariannette Miller-Meeks, ending his political career.
Early life, education, and business career
Schilling was born and raised in
Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island is a city in and the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The original Rock Island, from which the city name is derived, is now called Arsenal Island. The population was 37,108 at the 2020 census. Located on t ...
. He graduated from
Alleman Catholic High School and attended
Black Hawk College.
Schilling worked at
Container Corporation of America
Container Corporation of America (CCA) was founded in 1926 and manufactured corrugated boxes. In 1968 CCA merged with Montgomery Ward & Company, Inc., becoming MARCOR. MARCOR maintained separate management for the operations of each company, but ...
between 1983 and 1987 and was a union steward for the local chapter of the
United Paper Workers International Union. He then worked as an insurance agent for
Prudential Insurance Company
Prudential Financial, Inc. is an American Fortune Global 500 and Fortune 500 company whose subsidiaries provide insurance, retirement planning, investment management, and other products and services to both retail and institutional customers th ...
between 1987 and 1995, where he was ranked in the top 5% of all Prudential agents during his last year.
He was also the treasurer for the
United Food and Commercial Workers
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is a labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in industries including retail; meatpacking, food processing and manufacturing; hosp ...
Union
for four of those years.
In 1996, Schilling and his wife opened Saint Giuseppe's Heavenly Pizza in
Moline, Illinois
Moline ( ) is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in 2020, it is the largest city in Rock Island County. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline and Rock Islan ...
.
Schilling ran the restaurant until he became a member of Congress, when he left his son in charge. According to public personal financial disclosures, Schilling's restaurant dropped in value from a range of $100,000 to $250,000 down to between $50,000–$100,000. Schilling's son and campaign manager Terry Schilling said, "The real estate market has really taken a hit in East Moline. It just goes to show that Bobby Schilling has a real stake in this economy."
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2010
Schilling grew up as a Democrat, but became more conservative over the years and characterized himself as a "Reagan Republican."
He was also influenced by radio and television personality
Glenn Beck
Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and ra ...
. Schilling was one of the 9–12 Candidates, a group led by Beck, and signed the 9–12 contract of principles and values.
Schilling has said he was inspired to run for office because he was preparing to
franchise his restaurant, but cancelled his plans when he saw then-Presidential candidate
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
telling
Joe the Plumber that the government needed to "spread the wealth around."
Schilling announced his candidacy in April 2009
and officially filed for the Republican nomination in October 2009.
Schilling was unopposed in the primary election.
Schilling vowed not to participate in the
congressional pension
Congressional pension is a pension made available to members of the United States Congress. , members who participated in the congressional pension system are vested after five years of service. A pension is available to members 62 years of age wit ...
program, to keep his private health insurance instead of the congressional plan, to donate any pay raises he received, to limit himself to no more than eight years in Congress, and not to vote for any bill he had not read.
"I'm not going to make a career out of this," he said.
Early in Schilling's campaign, political websites rated the 17th District race "safe Democratic." However, by Election Day the race was rated "leans Republican" by
RealClearPolitics
RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator formed in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. The site features selected political new ...
,
Cook Political Report
''The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter'' is an American online newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the U.S. Presidency, the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and U.S. governors' offices. Sel ...
,
CQ Politics
Congressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is part of a privately owned publishing company called CQ Roll Call that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress. CQ was acquired by the Economist Group and combine ...
, and ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''.
The race was profiled on
CNN as one of the country's top 100 House races. CNN reported, "Schilling trails in the overall money race, but he's raised enough to get his message out and give the incumbent something to worry about."
In September 2010, Schilling was named to the
National Republican Congressional Committee
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is the Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives.
The NRCC was formed in 1866, when the Republican caucuses of the House and ...
's "
Young Guns" program.
Schilling's Democratic opponent, incumbent
Phil Hare, criticized Schilling for living 0.99 miles outside the 17th District, though the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these pr ...
only requires members of Congress to live within the state they wish to represent.
Schilling's wife noted that the family's restaurant was located in the district, and that it employed people and paid taxes there.
She asserted that
gerrymandering
In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...
had caused the family's home to fall outside district lines.
Schilling was endorsed by the
Quincy Tea Party group;
John Deere
Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipment, ...
PAC;
the
United States Chamber of Commerce
The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is the largest lobbying group in the United States, representing over three million businesses and organizations. The group was founded in April 1912 out of local chambers of commerce at the urgin ...
.
U.S. Representative Aaron Schock
Aaron Jon Schock (born May 28, 1981) is an American former politician who was Republican U.S. Representative for from 2009 until 2015. The district is based in Peoria and includes part of Springfield. He was the first member of the U.S. Co ...
(R-IL);
and former
Governor of Massachusetts
The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces.
Massachuset ...
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts ...
.
Newspapers were evenly divided in endorsing Schilling over Hare, with the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' and
the ''Sauk Valley News'' among those supporting Schilling.
In October 2010, Schilling was endorsed by the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
''.
In the general election, Schilling won by an unexpectedly large margin, taking 53 percent of the vote to Hare's 43 percent. Notably, he carried Hare's home county,
Rock Island County—a normally heavily Democratic county that is home to the district's two largest cities, Moline and Rock Island—by nine points.
Schilling's campaign set an off-year fundraising record for a challenger in the 17th district, amassing about $89,000 in 2009. Schilling's campaign fundraising relied largely on individual donors, who accounted for about 80 percent of the $1 million raised by his campaign.
Hare depended more heavily on
political action committees, who contributed about two-thirds of his campaigns $1.3 million total. Following his election, Schilling relied more on political action committees to help retire his campaign debt, with the bulk of his December 2010 fundraising coming from PACs, including
Wal-Mart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
, the
American Medical Association
The American Medical Association (AMA) is a professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. Founded in 1847, it is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was approximately 240,000 in 2016.
The AMA's sta ...
,
Caterpillar Inc. and
Archer Daniels Midland
The Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, commonly known as ADM, is an American multinational food processing and commodities trading corporation founded in 1902 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The company operates more than 270 plants and 4 ...
Co.
Schilling ended the campaign with a total of $1,095,167 raised and $1,078,911 spent.
After the election, Schilling hired as his
chief of staff
The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
Mike Roman, a political consultant known for posting a video showing
alleged voter intimidation during the 2008 presidential election.
Roman, along with policy director Scott Tranter, resigned from Schilling's office in April 2011.
2012
Schilling ran for re-election in
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
and faced Democrat and former
East Moline City Council Alderwoman
Cheri Bustos
Cheryl Lea Bustos ( ; née Callahan; born October 17, 1961) is an American journalist, healthcare executive, and politician who is the U.S. representative from Illinois's 17th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party ...
in the general election. He has been added to the National Republican Congressional Committee's Patriot Program, which is designed to defend incumbent Republicans. Bustos received a significant assist from the 2010 round of redistricting. The 17th already had a modest Democratic lean, but the Democratic-controlled legislature redrew the district to make it even more Democratic. Notably,
Quincy,
Decatur and the district's share of
Springfield were cut out, replaced by the more Democratic portions of
Peoria and
Rockford.
National Journal
''National Journal'' is an advisory services company based in Washington, D.C., offering services in government affairs, advocacy communications, stakeholder mapping, and policy brands research for government and business leaders. It publishes d ...
's
Cook Political Report
''The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter'' is an American online newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the U.S. Presidency, the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and U.S. governors' offices. Sel ...
named Schilling one of the top 10 Republicans most vulnerable to redistricting in 2012.
Schilling has raised $1.4 million and had $950,000 cash on hand as of June 30, 2011.
While initially rated as a "lean-Democrat" race by major sites, in September 2012, ''
Roll Call
''Roll Call'' is a newspaper and website published in Washington, D.C., United States, when the United States Congress is in session, reporting news of legislative and political maneuverings on Capitol Hill, as well as political coverage of ...
'', the
Cook Political Report
''The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter'' is an American online newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the U.S. Presidency, the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and U.S. governors' offices. Sel ...
, and the Rothenburg Political Report upgraded the race to "toss-up", with Cook saying Schilling had an advantage.
Schilling was endorsed by the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'', the ''
Rockford Register Star
The ''Rockford Register Star'' is the primary daily newspaper of the Rockford, Illinois, metropolitan area. The fifth-highest circulation newspaper in Illinois, the Register Star takes its name from the 1979 merger of two predecessors, the '' ...
'', former Congressman
Tom Railsback
Thomas Fisher Railsback (January 22, 1932 – January 20, 2020) was an American politician and lawyer who served eight terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1967 to 1983 for . A member of the Republican Party, he sat on the Ho ...
, the
National Federation of Independent Business
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is an association of small businesses in the United States. It is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, with offices in Washington, D.C., and all 50 state capitals. The goal of NFIB is to a ...
, and the ''
Galesburg Register-Mail
''The Register-Mail'' is an American daily newspaper published in Galesburg, Illinois. The paper was owned by the Pritchard family from 1896 to 1989, when it was sold to the '' Journal Star''. Copley Press bought both papers for $174.5 million. In ...
'', among other endorsements.
In the November 2012 elections, Bustos defeated Schilling by a 53%–47% margin. According to the
Seattle Post Intelligencer, Schilling was "looking forward to focusing again on his pizza business after losing a second term."
2014
It was widely expected by political analysts that Schilling would challenge Bustos to reclaim the seat in 2014.
On July 8, 2013, he officially announced his candidacy for his old seat in the 2014 election. In his announcement, he said Bustos has been failing the middle class, and criticized her for not supporting any budget plans in the legislature.
According to ''
The Hill
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'', Schilling "historically has not been a strong fundraiser but is known as a skilled grassroots campaigner." During 2013, Bustos raised approximately $1.1 million and Schilling raised approximately $297,000.
Schilling was endorsed by the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
''.
Schilling was defeated in the November 4 general election by Bustos, 55%–45%.
2020
Schilling announced he would run as a Republican for Iowa's 2nd District after incumbent Representative Dave Loebsack, a Democrat who was first elected in 2006, announced he would retire. He lost the Republican primary to
Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a state senator and the Republican nominee in
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
,
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, and
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
.
Tenure
Schilling's wife and 10 children attended the congressional swearing-in on January 5, 2011, attracting some notice and an interview with Diane Sawyer.
His early actions as a congressman included joining 25 other freshman Republicans in voting against extending the
USA PATRIOT Act
The USA PATRIOT Act (commonly known as the Patriot Act) was a landmark Act of the United States Congress, signed into law by President George W. Bush. The formal name of the statute is the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appro ...
, claiming that the 45 minutes allotted for floor debate was inadequate to discuss these concerns.
In February 2011, Schilling joined 130 House Republicans in voting against a $450 million budget cut for an extra F-35 fighter-jet engine—a project that the
U.S. Department of Defense had repeatedly tried to kill, and that Defense Secretary
Robert Gates
Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was originally appointed by president George W. Bush a ...
called "a waste of nearly 3 billion."
Schilling voted for a package of cuts that included a $230 million federal grant to build an
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...
line from
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
to
Iowa City
Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...
, though he had supported the project during his campaign, calling it "critically important to both the economy and the environment of the Midwest."
The planned rail line was a celebrated project by many in his district, including local mayors.
Schilling defended his vote, arguing it was a question of prioritizing, separating wants from needs, and when he looked at the big picture, the rail service did not make the cut.
He also stated that his constituents elected him to address national debt and deficit problems in Washington, not to take a business-as-usual approach.
In June 2011, Schilling introduced a bill to prevent members of Congress from receiving their congressional pension before they reach the
Social Security
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...
retirement age.
During the
2011 debt ceiling crisis, Schilling voted to raise the debt ceiling.
In October 2011, a California resident issued a death threat promising a reward to anyone who assassinated Schilling.
The threat is being investigated by the
FBI and the
United States Capitol Police
The United States Capitol Police (USCP) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States with nationwide jurisdiction charged with protecting the United States Congress within the District of Columbia and throughout the United States an ...
. Schilling said he was advised by authorities to "lay low" while they investigated the threat and a spokeswoman for Schilling said the Schilling family was taking the "recommended precautions". According to ''
The Hill
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'', the person behind the threat may be the one behind similar threats against
George W. Bush, several high-ranking current and former security and defense officials, and Rep.
Mike Coffman
Michael Harold Coffman (born March 19, 1955) is an American politician, businessman, and veteran of the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps serving as Mayor of Aurora, Colorado since 2019. A Republican, Coffman served as the U.S. representative for ...
of Colorado. Schilling said, "It's a general threat to all members of Congress, but they specifically called my name out in the threat. You just don't know what people are thinking...It's something we're not going to take lightly."
Schilling gave the Republican response to the
President's weekly radio address on October 29, 2011.
In September 2012, Schilling was given the "Friend of Agriculture Award" by the
Stephenson County Farm Bureau. In October 2012, he was given the "
No Labels Problem Solvers Seal".
Political positions
Schilling was considered to be a
Tea Party candidate in the 2010 election.
He held the following positions:
* He was
pro-life
Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respon ...
,
and spoke at the 2011
March for Life March for Life may refer to:
* March for Life (Washington, D.C.), an annual anti-abortion gathering held in Washington, D.C.
* March for Life (Paris), an annual demonstration held in Paris protesting abortion
* March for Life (Prague), an annual ...
.
* He said the federal government should stop regulating education and that local schools should be under local control.
* He supported repealing the Democrats' version of health care reform, believing it unconstitutional.
He supported
tort reform
Tort reform refers to changes in the civil justice system in common law countries that aim to reduce the ability of plaintiffs to bring tort litigation (particularly actions for negligence) or to reduce damages they can receive. Such changes a ...
and legalizing the purchase of insurance across state lines.
* He was fiscally conservative
and believed in small government.
* He supported
term limits
A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...
for members of Congress.
* He supported lowering the corporate tax rate.
* He supported a troop surge in the
War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to:
*Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC)
* Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709)
*Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...
,
and he opposed bringing
Guantanamo Bay detainees to
Thomson, Illinois
Thomson is a village along Illinois Route 84 near the Mississippi River in Carroll County, Illinois, United States. The population was 590 at the 2010 census, up from 559 at the 2000 census. Just north of the village is the United States Penite ...
; instead he supported bringing the detainees to trial before military courts rather than the U.S. civilian, federal courts.
Committee assignments
*
Committee on Agriculture
**
Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management
**
Subcommittee on Rural Development, Research, Biotechnology, and Foreign Agriculture
*
Committee on Armed Services
**
Subcommittee on Readiness
**
Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
*
Committee on Small Business
Electoral history
Personal life
Schilling was married to Christie Schilling. He had ten children, the youngest of whom was born in February 2010, and several grandchildren.
Schilling's son, Terry Schilling, is president of the American Principles Project.
Schilling died from cancer on April 6, 2021, having been initially diagnosed in May 2020.
Schilling was a resident of
LeClaire, Iowa
LeClaire is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States. The population was 4,710 in 2020, a 65.4% increase from 2,847 in 2000, making it one of the fastest-growing communities in the Quad Cities. LeClaire is considered a suburb and part of the ...
at the time of his death.
References
External links
Bobby Schilling for Congress*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schilling, Bobby
1964 births
2021 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American politicians
American restaurateurs
Black Hawk College alumni
Businesspeople from Illinois
Candidates in the 2014 United States elections
Catholics from Illinois
People from Colona, Illinois
People from Le Claire, Iowa
Politicians from Rock Island, Illinois
Prudential Financial people
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois
Tea Party movement activists
Iowa Republicans
Deaths from cancer in Iowa