Robert Todd Schilling (January 23, 1964 – April 6, 2021) was an American businessman and politician who served as a U.S. Representative for Illinois's 17th congressional district from 2011 to 2013.

[3] Schilling has said he was inspired to run for office because he was preparing to franchise his restaurant, but cancelled his plans when he saw then-Presidential candidate Barack Obama telling Joe the Plumber that the government needed to "spread the wealth around.

CNN reported, "Schilling trails in the overall money race, but he's raised enough to get his message out and give the incumbent something to worry about.

[7] Schilling's wife noted that the family's restaurant was located in the district, and that it employed people and paid taxes there.

[7] Schilling was endorsed by the Quincy Tea Party group;[13] John Deere PAC;[23] the United States Chamber of Commerce.

[29] Hare depended more heavily on political action committees, who contributed about two-thirds of his campaigns $1.3 million total.

Following his election, Schilling relied more on political action committees to help retire his campaign debt, with the bulk of his December 2010 fundraising coming from PACs, including Wal-Mart, the American Medical Association, Caterpillar Inc. and Archer Daniels Midland Co.[29] Schilling ended the campaign with a total of $1,095,167 raised and $1,078,911 spent.

[32] Schilling ran for re-election in 2012[33] and faced Democrat and former East Moline City Council Alderwoman Cheri Bustos in the general election.

Notably, Quincy, Decatur and the district's share of Springfield were cut out, replaced by the more Democratic portions of Peoria and Rockford.

National Journal's Cook Political Report named Schilling one of the top 10 Republicans most vulnerable to redistricting in 2012.

According to the Seattle Post Intelligencer, Schilling was "looking forward to focusing again on his pizza business after losing a second term.

Schilling's wife and 10 children attended the congressional swearing-in on January 5, 2011, attracting some notice and an interview with Diane Sawyer.

[55] His early actions as a congressman included joining 25 other freshman Republicans in voting against extending the USA PATRIOT Act, claiming that the 45 minutes allotted for floor debate was inadequate to discuss these concerns.

"[57][58] Schilling voted for a package of cuts that included a $230 million federal grant to build an Amtrak line from Chicago to Iowa City, though he had supported the project during his campaign, calling it "critically important to both the economy and the environment of the Midwest.

[59] Schilling defended his vote, arguing it was a question of prioritizing, separating wants from needs, and when he looked at the big picture, the rail service did not make the cut.

[59] He also stated that his constituents elected him to address national debt and deficit problems in Washington, not to take a business-as-usual approach.

[60] In June 2011, Schilling introduced a bill to prevent members of Congress from receiving their congressional pension before they reach the Social Security retirement age.