Sudden departure

WASHINGTON—Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock’s mom cried when she found out her son was running for Congress, because she was afraid it might turn him into a crook. Those fears now appear prophetic. “Let’s say it, aloud: Aaron Schock is a crook,” wrote National Review’s Charles Cooke on March 10.

A week later, barely into his fourth term, Schock announced his resignation from Congress after weeks of withering criticism over his lavish lifestyle—at least some of which came at taxpayer expense. Schock in a statement called his time in Congress “the highest and greatest honor of my life,” but acknowledged ongoing controversy became “a great distraction that has made it too difficult for me to serve the people of the 18th District with the high standards that they deserve and which I have set for myself.”

The resignation sent Schock, only 33, to an early retirement, although he compiled a 14-year record in elected office. He won election to a school board at age 19, the Illinois General Assembly at age 23, and Congress four years later. Then-House Minority Whip Eric Cantor immediately named him a deputy whip.

In a WORLD profile published the month he took office (“Young gun,” Jan. 31, 2009), Schock spoke freely about his new Christian faith and the importance of political ethics—the very issue that would precipitate his demise. Over the years Schock became known more for his six-pack abs and self-aggrandizement than passing legislation. He posed in an open shirt for a 2011 cover photo in Men’s Health and frequently posted pictures of himself in exotic places, from dancing on the streets of Argentina to surfing in Hawaii.

Schock’s recent troubles began in early February when a Washington Post style reporter paid an unannounced visit to his Capitol Hill office, where he found elaborate Downton Abbey–inspired decor and an interior decorator who was only too happy to show him around. The left-wing group Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington filed an ethics complaint because the decorator said she donated her services.

The complaint sparked a flurry of media stories and accusations that came to a head on March 17. The Chicago Tribune reported a Schock-linked shell company paid a political donor $300,000 for a property in his congressional district, then took out a $600,000 mortgage on it—using a bank operated by separate donors.

Politico, meanwhile, found Schock billed both taxpayers and his campaign for some 172,000 miles on his personal vehicle between January 2010 and July 2014. According to public records, when he sold the Chevrolet Tahoe, his only registered vehicle during that time, it had less than 83,000 miles on it. Politico previously reported Schock improperly billed taxpayers for a Nov. 14 chartered flight to a Chicago Bears game.

The Office of Congressional Ethics opened an investigation on Feb. 28—likely to disappear with Schock’s resignation, which takes effect March 31. Rumors swirled that the Department of Justice may yet bring criminal charges.

Schock’s abrupt departure surprised his GOP colleagues—including House Speaker John Boehner—and even journalists, who called him one of the most interesting, colorful members of Congress. Many had thought he would ride out the controversy, perhaps agreeing to pay fines for breaking rules.

Fellow Illinois Republican Rep. Randy Hultgren said he was “saddened” to hear the news: “Regardless of the circumstances surrounding his departure, he brought youth and energy to Congress and was dedicated to serving the needs of his constituents.”

Ritch Boerckel, senior pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in Peoria, where Schock professed faith in Christ in 2007, told me: “I am hurting with Aaron over the deep sadness that is surely his. I am confident that Aaron loves God and that he is called according to His eternal purpose.”

Schock leaves a safe Republican district, with a special elections replacing him to be held no later than July.