After he pled not guilty, prosecutors reached a deferred prosecution agreement with him in March 2019 whereby all charges were dropped in return for a period of good behavior and payment of $100,000 in restitution.

[4] Despite having a voting record of consistently opposing LGBTQ rights,[5] Schock came out as gay in March 2020 and expressed regret for some of his previous policy decisions.

[9][10][11] During his early years, the family lived on a rural farm site where the children were given the responsibility of tending a three-acre patch of strawberries and selling the fruit.

[12][14][1] After he did not get on the ballot because he did not have the required number of valid signatures on his petition to run for office,[18] he organized a successful write-in campaign,[19] using more than 200 volunteers who visited more than 13,000 households.

[27] The bills dealt with education, child protection, prescription drug savings, veterans' assistance, road construction and high-tech identity theft.

[33] Schock drew mixed reaction in late July 2008 when he brought President George W. Bush to Peoria to raise money for his congressional campaign.

"[37] In October 2008, Schock's father testified in a federal court that his son had notarized documents with false dates (a Class A misdemeanor under the Illinois Notary Public Act) while helping his parents establish tax shelters.

[42] In November 2010, Schock was challenged by Democrat D. K. Hirner, the Executive Director of the Illinois Environmental Regulatory Group and the Green Party nominee Sheldon Schafer.

The endorsement noted that Schock had voted with President Barack Obama more than a third of the time, breaking with GOP leaders on multiple issues, from his support for renewable energy to taming predatory lenders to FDA regulation of tobacco.

[49] In February 2013, the Office of Congressional Ethics' report was publicly released, which stated there was "substantial reason to believe that Rep. Schock violated federal law, House rules and standards of conduct."

Schock sold his Peoria home to a major Republican donor, who was also one of his campaign supporters, for a price that appeared to far exceed its then market value,[51] and reported as three times its worth.

Two weeks after taking office in 2009, Schock proposed an amendment, which passed, to the Troubled Asset Relief Program Accountability Act, to create a searchable website so Americans could see where bailout funds were being spent.

"[60] In February 2009, President Barack Obama invited Schock to fly with him on Air Force One for a visit to a Caterpillar plant in East Peoria, Illinois.

[67] Schock and Keating wrote a letter in support of their bill saying, "we believe the EACH Act balances a respect for religious diversity against the need to prevent fraud and abuse.

He's a hard worker, a rising star in the Republican Party...We have long valued independence in our congressmen; Aaron Schock is a conservative, but he also has a mind of his own, and he is endorsed.

His proposed legislation would create a bipartisan commission made up of former members of Congress and outside experts to abolish federal programs that are found to be unnecessary or under-performing.

During the debate on the short-term continuing resolution that passed the House on February 19, 2011, Schock was successful in banning further funding for the creation of stimulus signs that highlight stimulus-related projects around the country.

[79] In 2011, Schock and Delaware Democrat John Carney co-sponsored a bill that would use U.S. oil exploration to help fund a five-year federal highway construction project.

[86] In March 2011, Schock signed on as a co-sponsor to a proposal by Republican Congressman Devin Nunes of California called "A Roadmap for America's Energy Future" (H.R.

[57] On December 15, 2009, during a discussion on Hardball with Chris Matthews, Schock stated "I don't believe we should – we should limit water-boarding or, quite frankly, any other alternative torture technique if it means saving Americans' lives" in a "ticking time bomb" scenario or other critical situation.

[99] However, TheHill.com reported that Schock was "slammed" for calling illegal immigrants "undocumented citizens" and for showing support for a legalization program at a town hall event.

After this was done for the 56th time in 2015 without any replacement, the Peoria Journal Star stated: "The Affordable Care Act has its flaws, but its congressional detractors, Schock among them, have made it darn hard to conclude they are serious about governing.

In February 2015, The Washington Post reported that Schock's congressional offices had been lavishly redecorated in a style inspired by the aristocratic homes in the television show Downton Abbey.

[111] Further media scrutiny of congressional expenditure reports showed that Schock had spent over $100,000 in government funds on office decorating and renovations between January 2009 and late 2014, mostly during his first term.

[115] In 2015, news company Politico reported Schock had charged thousands of dollars for private flights, legal expenses, new cars, tickets to the Super Bowl and Country Music Awards,[116][117] as well as cufflinks, massage, "gold equipment" and cigars[118] to his government-funded office account.

[117] In March 2015 there were further reports of spending and disclosure irregularities,[120][121] including that Schock had accepted money from an outside group, the Global Poverty Project, to cover the cost of bringing a photographer on an all-expenses-paid trip to India organized to discuss sanitation and access to clean water.

"[128] On March 16, Politico reported that Schock had requested the federal government and his campaign reimburse him for a total of 170,000 miles that were driven on his personal car, a Chevrolet Tahoe, between January 2010 and July 2014.

[155] In 2012, Schock told Roll Call that "I'm a big believer if you want to change people's minds or get someone to vote for you, either a voter or a colleague, you've got to first get their attention.

[167][168][169] In June 2019, a video was released showing Schock tipping a male go-go dancer at a gay bar in Zona Rosa, Mexico City.

In his statement, Schock expressed regret for some of his stances and attributed his voting record to his estrangement from his socially conservative family and struggles to come to terms with his sexual orientation.