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Senator Bill Brady
Senator Bill Brady has led the way in efforts to restore integrity to state government, to improve the state’s job climate, and to use taxpayers’ dollars for the good of all Illinois citizens.
He was a leader in the effort to defeat Governor Blagojevich’s proposed gross receipts tax, the largest state tax increase ever proposed in the history of this nation.
He fought for and passed legislation to protect children from sexual predators. He is the leading voice in the Senate for efforts to create a business climate that will attract hundreds of thousands of new jobs to the state. He also is a leader in the effort to reform the state’s grossly underfunded public pension systems while safeguarding the retirement security of state employees, university faculty and teachers.
He was a primary sponsor of legislation to end pay-to-play politics in Illinois, and he is again sponsoring a Constitutional amendment that would give Illinois citizens the power to recall public officials.
A mainstream conservative who has a solid reputation for budget expertise and for challenging the status quo in state government, Senator Bill Brady believes state government should be accountable for educating our children and maintaining such essential services such as transportation and law enforcement supported by a tax system that is fair and efficient.
As a state legislator, Senator Brady has worked to increase educational accountability, promote fiscal responsibility, offer homeowners relief from burdensome property taxes, overhaul regulation of the health care industry in Illinois, promote the use of alternative energy sources, and create a business climate favorable to job growth.
He has sponsored reforms of workers’ compensation and medical malpractice laws, and he championed reforms in the state’s insurance and financial industries that became a national model. He passed legislation to guarantee health insurance for retired teachers and was a leading sponsor of legislation to promote highway safety through more training for young drivers. Senator Brady has led the way in efforts to restore integrity to state government and to ensure the best use of the taxpayers’ dollars.
A lifelong resident of Bloomington and a successful businessman in the real estate and home construction industry, Senator Brady has represented areas of seven Central Illinois counties in the Illinois Senate since 2002 and previously was elected to four terms in the House of Representatives. He is currently the ranking Republican on the Senate Insurance Committee and is a member of the Revenue, Pensions and Investments, Energy, and Environment committees. He also serves on the General Assembly’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. Senator Brady was a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor in 2006 and has continued to campaign throughout Illinois to bring common-sense leadership to the state that will once again put Illinois on the track of promise and prosperity.
He has been honored by such organizations as the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and the Illinois Farm Bureau for his achievements in the General Assembly.
A graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University, Senator Brady and his wife Nancy have three children.
(to see photo of Bill Brady, go to Flickr page below)
Robert "Bobby" Schilling
is a family man and a business man. He was born and raised in Rock Island. Bobby has been married to Christie for 23 years and counting, and together they have nine children: Terry, 22; Aaron, 19; Levi, 16; Joe, 15; Isabel, 13; Rachel, 11; Olivia, 7; Sam, 3; Sophia, 1; and a granddaughter, Grace, 3.
Bobby graduated from Alleman High School and then attended Black Hawk College. Afterwards, Bobby worked at Container Corporation of America (McMillan Bloedel Containers). During his time there, 1983-1987, Bobby served as a union steward in Local 191 International Paper Workers Union. From 1987-1995, he went on to work in the insurance and financial services industry. Working for the largest insurance company in the United States, Prudential Insurance and Financial Services, he was ranked number 315 out of over 13,000 agents during his last full year with the company.
Twelve years ago Bobby decided to take a leap of faith and go into business for himself as a pizza restaurant owner/operator. Now Saint Giuseppe's Heavenly Pizza in Moline has proven to be a great success. When Bobby and Christie looked at closing their restaurant on Sundays in order to spend more time with their family, people told them it wouldn't survive. However, with faith and persistence, the business has not only sustained itself, but has grown.
To his credit, Bobby is not just a pizza guy – he has also made smart investments and has had a great deal of success in real estate. Financial stability is something that Bobby and his wife cherish. After all the ups and downs of running their own business and raising a large family, getting to a level where they are financially comfortable, they could not sit back and watch the fiscally irresponsible politicians carry on with business as usual. When looking at the direction our nation was headed, Bobby asked himself two important questions, If not me, whom?, and, If not now, when? Bobby sees a need for fiscal responsibility and a desire to leave the country a better place for his children and grandchildren.
Bobby and Christie are not only able, but they are willing to place their own lives on hold to go out and meet the people of the 17th Congressional District. For it is in these hard working families of the 17th that Bobby has seen the possibilities of young people and the bright futures that they have ahead of them. These young families see in Bobby, that with hard work and determination, anything is possible. Is this going to be easy? No, Bobby is well aware of that. He loves a challenge or someone telling him that something is not possible or that it can't be done. Time and time again Bobby has proven them wrong.
Robert Schilling is a man of integrity and of faith – not a politician but a statesman.
(to see a photo of Bobby Schilling, click on Flickr page below)
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