Congressman Bobby Schilling is a husband, father, and small business owner born and raised in Rock Island, Illinois. A lifelong Illinois resident, he and his wife Christie recently celebrated their 26th wedding anniversary. They are parents to 10 children and grandparents to two granddaughters.
Bobby and his family own and operate Saint Giuseppe’s Heavenly Pizzeria in Moline. His experience as a small business owner shapes his current understanding of government and its purpose.
Prior to opening the pizzeria, Bobby worked as a machine operator and was a member of the United Paper Workers Union, Local 191. He later worked for a number of years in the financial services industry.
With his business, Bobby has experienced first-hand how inefficient and ineffective government can be. He knows that when we villainize business owners and entrepreneurs, we hamper their ability to create jobs and grow our economy. He decided to get involved and try to make a difference.
Bobby was elected to serve as the Representative for the 17th Congressional District of Illinois on November 2, 2010. He serves the interests of his district on the House Armed Services Committee, the Agriculture Committee, and the Committee on Small Business.
The 17th Congressional District of Illinois encompasses 23 counties and stretches from the Quad Cities down along the Mississippi River all the way to Grafton. Heading south along the Mississippi, the district includes Dallas City, Quincy, and Hamburg, before bearing east through Carlinville, Springfield, and Decatur. The 17th District also includes towns such as Galesburg, Macomb, and Canton.
The district features the Rock Island Arsenal, the largest employer in the Quad Cities with approximately 8,600 workers. Further, its business supports more than 14,000 additional jobs in the surrounding area. The Rock Island Arsenal houses approximately 50 Department of Defense organizations, including the Joint Manufacturing Technology Center, and its dynamic workforce is unlike any other throughout the country.
The 17th District is also home to the world headquarters of large manufacturing employer John Deere, and according to the 2007 United States Department of Agriculture Ag Census is home to 15,364 farm operators and 10,528 farms, covering 3.8 million acres. The district ranks 37th out of 435 in the value of agriculture products sold, 14th in grain and oilseed production, and 20th in the number of hogs and pigs.