Schilling stops in Decatur as part of district-wide tour

DECATUR — Supporters gathered on a cold Thursday afternoon in Central Park to meet Republican congressional candidate Bobby Schilling as he continued his district-wide tour, hitting major cities throughout Illinois’ 17th Congressional District in advance of Tuesday’s election.

“Everybody here today is being called upon,” Schilling said to a few dozen sign-holding supporters, pausing for cheers and applause. “We need to rise to the occasion. Our kids and our grandkids are dependent upon us.”

Schilling urged everybody who came out to encourage people to vote and fire up support.

The pizza restaurant owner from Colona faces incumbent Phil Hare, D-Rock Island. Schilling said he is confident of his support throughout the ponderously-drawn 17th District, which includes parts of Decatur, a slim portion of Springfield, and a wide swath of Western Illinois, including Galesburg and the Quad-Cities area.

The tour started Thursday morning in Galesburg and afterward was scheduled to make stops in Springfield and Carlinville.

It’s made for a difficult tour, but his campaign has managed, Schilling said.

“We started back in February of 2009, and we planted some seeds,” he said. “We’ve been to a lot of towns that the congressman has never been to. I’m an independent thinker, and the thing I’m going to look at is what’s good for our district, what’s good for our state and what’s good for our country.”

Decatur city councilmen Adam Brown and Larry Foster were along to show their support. Brown is running for state representative in the 101st Illinois House District. Macon County Republican Party Chairman Jerry Stocks said despite the widely spread district, coordinating on Schilling’s campaign has been easy because of how much national support it has drawn and how well-run it’s been.

“The energy level we’ve seen in Schilling’s campaign I think promises a great result for him,” Stocks said. “The polls indicate we’ll succeed in that race. That’s a big victory.”

Among the supporters were Decatur residents Diana and Brian Shepard. Diana Shepard said she and her husband may not live in the 17th District, but both grew up in the Quad-Cities area, where her parents, Schilling supporters, still live. She said they showed up Thursday on her parents’ behalf.

Husband and wife praised Schilling’s viewpoints.

“I think he’s a very personable guy. He’s very honest, forthright,” Brian Shepard said. “(I support Schilling) because of all the reasons in his platform: Jobs, less government, and getting back to fiscal responsibility, which there hasn’t been any of.”

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