Heat turned up on Schock
Wednesday, Feb 4, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
A watchdog group Tuesday asked the Office of Congressional Ethics to examine whether Rep. Aaron Schock of Illinois acted improperly by accepting free services from an interior designer who redid his offices with a “Downton Abbey” motif.
The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington asked for the probe in a letter from Anne Weismann, its interim executive director and chief counsel.
The request was prompted by a story in Tuesday’s Washington Post about the fresh decor in the Republican lawmaker’s Rayburn Building office. […]
The paper quoted Schock’s office as saying Brahler offered her services for free, His congressional district includes Jacksonville, Ill., where Euro Trash is located.
The complaint is here.
* Meanwhile, USA Today looks at past spending by Schock…
In December 2009 he paid $7,400 to an Illinois design/build firm called KBL Design Center, and then another $21,000 to a hardwood floor company, a building contractor and company called Old World Granite and Marble that apparently makes high-end countertops. He then spent $6,600 on an Illinois painting contractor.
Two months later, Schock spent $79,061 on furniture purchases, including $5,123 from a company called Mulnix Industries that specializes in hardwood podiums.
Around the same time, Schock spent more than $4,000 with a fine-leather furniture company called Garrett Leather.
All of the expenditures came out of Schock’s taxpayer-funded office account, which lawmakers can use to buy office furniture and pay for renovations.
Oof.
- J - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:20 am:
[Insert list detailing every time Aaron Schock complained about wasteful spending]
- Aldyth - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:21 am:
Whatever was he thinking?
- ZC - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:21 am:
Re that USA TODAY spending, if it all did go into his office, then -legally-, I think that part is in the clear.
I mean, I wouldn’t be happy about it were I his constituent, but it’s his constituents’ job to police that part of it. Only if some of this stuff found its way into Schock’s own house, would he be in trouble with the law.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:21 am:
“Aaron? I just want to say one word to you. Just one word. Are you listening? Optics.”
- 47th Ward - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:22 am:
I wonder how this is going to play in Peoria.
- Apocalypse Now - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:27 am:
Schock has disappointed, since the day he appeared shirtless. Thought he would grow-up, but appears he hasn’t.
- Ron Burgundy - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:28 am:
I don’t think elected officials should have to work in a concrete bunker, but neither should they work in the Taj Mahal. A happy medium would be good. This tilts a bit more toward the Taj Mahal end of the spectrum.
- Langhorne - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:30 am:
The Today show made fun of it this am. Glad he didn’t take his inspiration from the Zombie Apocalypse
- Mouthy - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:31 am:
From experience when they spend taxpayer money on stuff like this they think of it as their money not the taxpayer’s…
- Westward - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:32 am:
Schadenfreude
;-))))
- Streator Curmudgeon - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:32 am:
–Two months later, Schock spent $79,061 on furniture purchases–
That’s $10,000 more than I paid for my house in 2004.
- A guy - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:33 am:
Only the best and edgiest…
- LizPhairTax - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:34 am:
Also, well done 47th Ward
- A Citizen - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:36 am:
Oh the horror! Come on people get a life - are you all nuts?
- thechampaignlife - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:36 am:
What ZC said. The govt was the ultimate recipient. Move along.
- Todd Gak - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:48 am:
When asked for comment about the heat being turned up on his dealings, Schock responded “boy, it is a bit warm in here, huh?”
- Todd Gak - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:50 am:
[Slow bass line starts]
[Undoes first button]
- Tree Stand - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:50 am:
==I don’t think elected officials should have to work in a concrete bunker==
Have you seen the Stratton Building?
- A guy - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:51 am:
In a red room, you just can’t tell if someone is turning red or not.
- Smitty Irving - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:52 am:
Is Annie Brahler, the designer, a plant? Schock’s has been targeted before.
- Formerly Known As... - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:03 am:
==Is Annie Brahler, the designer, a plant?==
Hardly. It appears from the initial Washington Post story that she is a local designer who has previously done good work for the Congressman and got a chance to do something nice.
Everyone wins. The Congressman gets a unique and nice office, the designer gets a chance to showcase her work a bit, and the taxpayers save money on the design costs.
Until everything falls apart like a car wreck in slow motion, as it has here.
- Juvenal - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:04 am:
=== What ZC said. The govt was the ultimate recipient. Move along. ===
Exactly. Not one single taxpayer reaped any single benefit, “the govt,” in the person of Congressman Schock, did.
- Joe Bidenopolous - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:05 am:
I like Aaron, I really do. But like I said yesterday, anyone surprised by this stuff simply doesn’t know him. He’s always been extravagant and fabulous. He’s still the only person I’ve ever seen wear a smoking jacket on the House floor and Prada loafers sans socks at the state fair (watch your step Aaron!).
Appalling because of the waste? Absolutely. Suprising? Not in the least.
And streator Curmudgeon - I sold my Springfield house in 2002 for just slightly less than that furniture cost myself.
- Soccermom - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:11 am:
47th
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JWTaaS7LdU
- Teve Demotte - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:15 am:
Reading between the lines its hard not to the corrolaries between Schock and Rutherford.
- 47th Ward - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:19 am:
Awww, thanks Soccermom. Now my face is redder than the walls in Schock’s office.
- Beans and Franks - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:38 am:
That’s just OUT of site.
- Beans and Franks - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:39 am:
sight…
- A guy - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:40 am:
=== 47th Ward - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:19 am:
Awww, thanks Soccermom. Now my face is redder than the walls in Schock’s office.===
She do do that to you, don’t she? You’re smitten.
- Soccermom - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:41 am:
Oh my goodness — Schock is now news in the UK.
http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/03/downton-abbey-decor-why-be-ashamed
- Soccermom - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:43 am:
I love that the Guardian made this point:
Let’s not forget, however, that Downton Abbey is on PBS, which is in part funded by the government (and viewers like you, as they so often tell us). The Republicans have been trying to destroy PBS for years and Mitt Romney made a pledge in 2012 that he would cut its funding were he elected president. How can Schock stand so firmly behind the channel’s biggest hit when his party has put PBS on the chopping block?
- Soccermom - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:43 am:
47th — that means you could sneak right into Schock’s office and take photos, and no one would see you! Clever…
- Old Shepherd - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:44 am:
Some are work-horses; others are show-horses.
- Belle - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:46 am:
Love it Soccermom—bringing it back to enjoying the station that the government helps bring to our homes—PBS.
- MrJM - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:50 am:
In the homeland of “Downton Abbey” the British have a word for politicians who behave like Aaron Schock: posh boys.
– MrJM
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:50 am:
- Soccermom -, I hope your tribute doesn’t foreshadow a departure?
If you have to “go”, the statewide bus tour needs to happen soon…
To the Post,
To all the young Flacks out there…
Making a “deal” with a reporter who already has a story in the can…choosing exclusivity versus an exclusive ain’t changing minds. Be better, and do t be so naive that no one would have found out about the decor, or you could have controlled the message.
You can’t control blatantly bad optics.
Amateur Hour.
- a drop in - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:51 am:
Instead of Downton Abbey, he should have used Bruce Wayne’s mansion as a model. That show is on good old American TV station Fox.
- Belle - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:52 am:
Perhaps he should spend some time watching “Call the Midwives” so he can understand the healthcare issues before their National HealthCare System was put into place. Since the characters aren’t rich, there may not be as many opportunities to gather decorating ideas.
- Under Further Review - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:53 am:
It is amusing that the British newspapers frequently do most of the heavy-lifting in terms of reporting on American politics. What happened to the American media? If you want to see in depth articles, you have to read the newspapers from the United Kingdom that have no inhibition about criticizing the President or the Congress regardless of party affiliation.
- Soccermom - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 11:03 am:
Although it occurs to me that 47th’s camouflage would only work if he is wearing an all-red suit (Santa minus the white fur trim?) or is, um, unclothed.
But really — what could possibly go wrong if someone just happened to wander into a congressman’s office wearing nothing but a sense of fiscal indignation?
- 47th Ward - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 11:05 am:
Eww.
- VanillaMan - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 11:08 am:
Holy crap!
He thinks he is Chester Arthur!
- A guy - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 11:09 am:
=== Soccermom - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 11:03 am:
Although it occurs to me that 47th’s camouflage would only work if he is wearing an all-red suit (Santa minus the white fur trim?) or is, um, unclothed.
But really — what could possibly go wrong if someone just happened to wander into a congressman’s office wearing nothing but a sense of fiscal indignation?===
You want this story to go well beyond England, don’t you? lol
- Streator Curmudgeon - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 11:13 am:
Just looked at the photos of Schock’s office.
I have a picture of Lincoln in my home office too–in a frame I bought at Dollar General.
But red walls? What VanillaMan said.
- Under Further Review - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 11:15 am:
@Vanilla Man:
I was fairly sure that Chester Alan Arthur was one of the presidents featured on a framed print in Shock’s outer office or reception area. I did spot Woodrow Wilson in the same photo.
All in all, it reminded me of a English pub themed restaurant.
- Formerly Known As... - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 11:33 am:
==But really — what could possibly go wrong if someone just happened to wander into a congressman’s office wearing nothing but a sense of fiscal indignation?==
The customer-constituent is always right. Always.
You offer them a seat on one of those fancy Downton Abbey chairs, have a spot of tea and then pose for pictures with a stark red 47th in all his glory.
No? lol
- Left Leaner - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 11:42 am:
Schock’s picture would go nicely next to Webster’s definition of vanity.
- Soccermom - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 12:39 pm:
I am thinking of this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8IQ5-89ey8
- Rgal - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 12:48 pm:
Congressman Schock’s district includes Bloomington-Normal. The only time he has made an appearance is for fundraising. We do not know him any other way. He needs to come regularly to all areas of his district and report about what is happening in Washington and give us the rationale for his votes and not charge! We pay his salary! Congressman worry about how the press is reporting what happens in Washington. Why don’t they have regular sessions with constituents in their district to tell them what is happening and not have us have to depend on the press.
- Illini97 - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 1:14 pm:
Ethical or not, it appears he has no sense of optics.
Illinois is $9 billion short!
Oooooh, is that leather? I’ll take 2!
- vole - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 1:25 pm:
There are more ways than one to increase your net worth in D.C. Or at least the appearance of net worth to improve your stature among those of wealth and celebrity. Its all part of the game in gaining some rungs up the hierarchical ladder. Schock like many others in high positions gains his sense of identity with the trappings of wealth. He is great at the fund raising game to sustain his place and promote his rise. I just wish he didn’t also fall in line with the rest of the D.C. Republican ideologues and would actually represent his district more along the moderate lines of LaHood and Michel. Too bad democracy or the political party system in Illinois is so weak that the democrats can’t put up a solid candidate to compete with him and his war chest.
- Bigtwich - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 2:27 pm:
At least the red room was from Downton Abbey instead of Fifty Shades of Grey.
- Well then - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 2:28 pm:
What Teve said. A lot like Rutherford.
- Irishpirate - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 4:41 pm:
He’s now reported to be quoting Taylor Swift: “Haters gotta hate”
https://vine.co/v/OF63AAEmi7J
- Streator Curmudgeon - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 5:10 pm:
Schock’s office made a CNN editorial about Republican policies:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/04/opinion/kohn-schock-downton-abbey/index.html
- Macoupin Minority - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 6:50 pm:
Under Further Review @ 10:53 AM:
You nailed it! Thanks for pointing that out as I don’t think most folks are aware of the level of coverage about the US in the UK.
- rilt - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 8:38 pm:
How much of that could he afford if he made minimum wage.