He was 23.
I was 23.
He was in the early stages of a quick run up the political ladder, and after a hard-fought election becoming a full-fledged member of the Illinois House.
I was an intern for WUIS and Illinois Public Radio, days (literally) into my first attempt at covering state government and politics.
Doing a profile of the youngest-ever legislator elected to the General Assembly on his inauguration day, on Jan. 12, 2005 seemed a fitting assignment.
Below is the story I produced, just over ten years ago, after following Schock around for much of that day.
Forgive the stumbled introduction, the stilted, trying-too-hard voicing, the awkward attempt at saying he was good-looking, the ... well, forgive a lot -- as I said, at the time of this report I was an intern, with mere days of experience in public radio; but take a listen, and focus on what Rep. Aaron Schock had to say at the age of 23 about his political aspirations, his goals, and who he chose to have along with him by his side as he was sworn in; compare what his father said then about his son -- he "kept running for higher offices, and who knows when he'll be through" -- with the statements Dr. Richard Schock made recently, after Schock had resigned his seat from Congress shortly into his fourth term, like that he's "broken" but a "fighter," and that "two years from now he'll be successful, if he's not in jail."
Fallen politicians like Schock -- whose resignation takes effect tomorrow, on March 31, quickly become fodder for late night-talk shows ... and, evidently, ripe subjects for commercial radio ads. Here's one for the Deja Vu strip club, aired by Springfield rock station WQLZ, that invites Schock and his (in)famous six pack to take up a new career.
By the way, as part of a segment for Illinois Edition, I sat down with another journalist whose career began as an '05 graduate of the Public Affairs Reporting program at the University of Illinois Springfield - the Peoria Journal Star's Chris Kaergard. As that paper's political ace, he's closely followed Schock's time in Congress. But Kaergard really "knew him when." They were students at Bradley University at the same time. Here's the segment. Take a listen if you want to know why the soon-to-be former Congressman with a reputation for acting like a frat boy may have a sorority to thank for helping launch his meteoric rise in politics. (Note: if you want to listen to that radio ad again, it's at the very end of this episode).
