19 Comments - 47th Ward - Thursday, Apr 25, 13 @ 9:08 pm: Good decision. Schock likes DC and DC likes Schock. He’s young enough to bide his time. The mansion will still be there when the time is right, presumably after most of the mess is cleaned up in Springfield. Governor is a great job when there is money. Congress is pretty good too. - quincy - Thursday, Apr 25, 13 @ 9:17 pm: No great loss here in the midwest - Non-ISRA Member - Thursday, Apr 25, 13 @ 9:20 pm: Shades of Adam Andrzejewski… At least he’s telling everyone up front and not trying to build up suspense. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Apr 25, 13 @ 9:24 pm: Not a good move by Aaron, but a GREAT MOVE. Stay in DC, get more seniority, and all Congressman Schock has… is time on his side. Not many people in politics have that “currency” in their pocket. There was nothing to gain, at his age, by running for Governor, with two chances to be knocked completely out of Illinois Politics, let alone National Politics, and with his resume… and all he has accomplished before the age of 35, wise move, indeed. Four years from now, when 2013 will seem like ten years ago. or even longer in political parlance, Congressman Schock will feel he dodge a major political mistake, while others will be at the wayside. Too much upside getting OUT of the Guv race, too much downside being IN the Guv race … in 2013. Whose to say Aaron Schock is not on the path of Ray LaHood, heading a Cabinet Department? All those options still lay ahead of Aaron, after this schrewd move of walking away from something so tempting, yet so full of negatives and so full of dead ends. The pure political reality is that MORE is gained RIGHT NOW by walking away then could have been gained, even by just winning the Republican Nomination in 2014. This is just Good Politics, and if you look at the career Aaron Schock has strung together so far, I guess I shouldn’t have expected anythng different. Dillard, Rutherford, Rauner… all three might be completely OUT of Illinois Politics or be Governor of the state of Illinois. Aaron Schock just had too many other GOOD options to choose from then those for those three given Aaron’s age, the position he holds now, and the avenues that can go from it. Will be a fun “discuss” tomorrow. Well played, Congressman Schock. You will be thanking yourself in the future for this, no matter HOW 2014 shakes out. - wordslinger - Thursday, Apr 25, 13 @ 9:48 pm: Makes sense. Young, safe seat, moving up on Ways and Means, likely in the majority for some time. And now he’s free to cause some trouble for Rauner and The Club for Growth (or is that Hair Club for Men, I get them mixed up). - reformer - Thursday, Apr 25, 13 @ 10:28 pm: It sounds as if Rauner’s fortune intimidated him. I hear the billionaire is spreading donations among township GOP organizations in Cook County to win their support. - AlphaBettor - Thursday, Apr 25, 13 @ 10:35 pm: If there’s a Republican who can lose this governor’s race, the Illinois GOP will find him. - VanillaMan - Thursday, Apr 25, 13 @ 11:43 pm: He is not ready. Illinois government is too broke. Who wants to be captain of a sinking ship, except for old men and family members already holding office? - TSP - Friday, Apr 26, 13 @ 12:48 am: Schock just came off a hefty fundraising quarter with more than all the other Republicans combined in cash. Now the focus narrows as Bruce Rauner is dying a death by a thousand cuts of insider rigging the system be it for a windfall in pension business after giving PA Dem Gov Rendell $300,000 or calling the Obama Sec of Education to get his daughter into the best school in Illinois for which she didn’t qualify. It’s time for Dillard and Rutherford to step it up. - here we go - Friday, Apr 26, 13 @ 6:37 am: This is probably really good news for Dillard who has ties to western Illinois and was strongly endorsed by the PSJ in 2010. - Anonymous - Friday, Apr 26, 13 @ 6:45 am: Looks like the weight of his federal ethics scandals finally forced him to drop out. - Anonymous - Friday, Apr 26, 13 @ 6:55 am: Yeah, Anon 6:45 am, the exercise tape and trash cans are huge compared to the allegations tossed out against a few others. - Seriously - Friday, Apr 26, 13 @ 6:57 am: Time for self indulged Rauner to go play backgammon somewhere and folks to get behind someone who HAS A CHANCE, albeit very slight if Lisa runs. Looks to me like that would be Dillard. Dan R should stay in the Treasurer’s office so GOP can retain tha seat, he is doing the job and as incumbent he will be tough to beat. Open tha seat up and it will be tough to keep. - WizzardOfOzzie - Friday, Apr 26, 13 @ 7:16 am: Aaron seemed to be dismissed pretty easily by commenters here. He would have been a really, really good candidate. That being said, he’s made a very good choice. - CircularFiringSquad - Friday, Apr 26, 13 @ 7:41 am: Tempted to say Lisa Wins! But that assumes she even runs. This would have been one of the more entertaining races in state history. Instead the Congressman goes back for the final year of the GOP majority in the House while CousinBrucey trashes eveyone in IL to the point that none can win and PQ or anyone — even Waldo The Woodpecker — waltzes in. Guess we should had out kudos to MultiHouser CousinBrucey too. He must be very proud. - wordslinger - Friday, Apr 26, 13 @ 8:13 am: CFS, what’s the origin of your nickname for Rauner? Who’s his cousin? - Oswego Willy - Friday, Apr 26, 13 @ 8:18 am: - wordslinger -, I …THINK … this is who it is, or at least, which is awesome because that is half the fun with CFS until the reveal! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Morrow Glad to see CFS is “in form”, and we all still need our decoder rings. And that is a good thing. - wordslinger - Friday, Apr 26, 13 @ 8:46 am: Willie, thanks. - Rich Miller - Friday, Apr 26, 13 @ 8:50 am: Let’s move the conversation here: https://capitolfax.com/2013/04/26/aaron-schock-withdrawal-roundup/ Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.