Former Peoria-area congressman Aaron Schock is back in national headlines.
According to an extensive report published by Politico on Monday, the disgraced former U.S. representative who grew up in Peoria, apparently became obsessed with the idea of making millions of dollars on gold in Venezuela.
Schock, who represented Peoria and parts of central Illinois in Congress from 2009 to 2015 in the now-defunct 18th Congressional District, has been, as one source told Politico, transfixed with the idea of getting an eight-figure payday on the back of a Venezuelan gold mine since returning from a trip to the country in 2025.
Schock had been in Venezuela as part of an effort to keep President Donald Trump’s relationship with former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro intact so that American oil companies could continue doing business there, according to Politico.
While on that mission, Schock grew enamored with the idea of being rewarded with his own gold mine, a promise allegedly made to him by the country’s then Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, according to the news organization. To receive the gold mine, Schock had to secure a softer touch from Trump on Venezuela.
It is left unclear in the Politico article if Schock ever received the gold mine or is still on a path to obtain one. However, it does say he returned to Venezuela last month, visiting Valencia, a city that gained notoriety in 2017 after gold was struck there.
Schock’s resignation from Congress, controversies
Schock is no stranger to controversy. After being elected to Congress in 2009 at the age of 27, Schock, a Republican, began making a name for himself on the national stage for, among other things, his fit physique.
His political career, which began at age 19 after he won a seat on the Peoria Public Schools Board as a write-in candidate, began to unravel in 2015 when his use of campaign funds and taxpayer dollars came under scrutiny.
That same year, prosecutors brought charges against Schock that alleged he had used more than $100,000 of campaign and taxpayer dollars for expenses that included lavish foreign dinners and Super Bowl tickets. The charges saw him facing a prison sentence of up to 80 years.
He resigned from Congress in March 2015 as media reports scrutinizing his campaign expenses began to surface.
In 2019, prosecutors dropped the charges against Schock in exchange for his admittance of wrongdoing and reimbursement to the Internal Revenue Service.
Schock would stir more controversy in 2020 when he came out as gay, despite his voting record as a Republican often showing him as taking anti-gay stances. Schock, who was raised in the Apostolic Christian Church in Peoria, was estranged by his family after coming out, according to Politico. However, he did visit family in Peoria in December, the article said.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Former Peoria congressman Aaron Schock subject of national news story
Reporting by JJ Bullock, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By JJ Bullock, Peoria Journal Star | USA TODAY Network
