Schilling, Manzullo Host Politics and Pigskin

By TOM KOCAL | The Prairie Advocate News

Video Below

ROCKFORD, Ill.—U.S. Rep. Bobby Schilling (R-Colona) and U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo (R-Egan) hosted a political gathering with supporters on Sunday at the Prairie Street Brewhouse in Rockford.

Guests got a chance to enjoy food and rub elbows with their congressmen, all while taking in the Bears game. With the race for the 17th District seat neck and neck, Congressman Schilling says that in this election political affiliation takes a back seat.

Manzullo endorsed Schilling in his bid for a second term representing the Illinois 17th District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“Bobby Schilling is a small business owner who understands challenges in today’s economy, such as meeting payroll and operating on a budget,” Manzullo said. “That’s why he’s an effective legislator and problem-solver, who can always be counted on to vote his conscience and to listen to the concerns of the people he represents, not Washington insiders. While always standing up for the principles he believes in, Bobby advocates for his positions in a positive, non-partisan way. My service to Winnebago, Stephenson, Whiteside, Jo Daviess, and Carroll counties is coming to an end, and I have confidence that you will be very well-served by Congressman Bobby Schilling as my successor.”

Schilling, who worked with Manzullo as a member of the House Manufacturing Caucus and also as a co-sponsor on the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act, praised Manzullo for his work for northern Illinois.

“Don Manzullo did an incredible job representing this region, and I know I have big shoes to fill,” Schilling said. “I’m looking forward to it. My number one priority is growing jobs and strengthening our manufacturers. We have the best workers in the world—now we need to make sure we create an environment that encourages job growth here at home.

“It’s not about Democrat or Republican,” Schilling said, “it’s about getting an environment to where the job creators not only want to stay here but they also want to come here because we’ve got everything. We’ve got hard workers, we’ve got river, rail, and roadway.”

“The government can’t create jobs,” Manzullo told the Prairie Advocate, “but government can destroy jobs. The president has done a great job of that, with his healthcare act (Obamacare) . . . people are terrified. I know of companies that will lay-off and get below 50 so that they are exempt from Obamacare. You can’t grow an economy when people are afraid to grow their businesses. There is tremendous uncertainty. It doesn’t make sense.”

“Don and I both come from a business background,” Schilling added. “We know what it means to have to make a payroll, hire people, and deal with our customers to learn how we can improve our business. We understand that every time we have a financial problem with our business, we can’t just raise price of our product. We have to trouble-shoot. That’s the case with America. The problem is over-regulation, and over-taxing. We need to simplify the tax code, and not over-regulate our American companies.”

For more comments about the future of the Thomson Prison and more, see the exclusive video interview with Congressmen Schilling and Manzullo below.
(PA photo/Tom Kocal)