The Candidate: Robert "Bob" Shelstrom
The Race: Republican Party Candidate for Illinois State Representative in the 36th District
The Competition: Kelly Burke
The Buzz: Shelstrom is a licensed mechanical and civil engineer as well as a certified Energy Conservation Professional. Shelstrom has no prior political experience. He has previously worked as a mathematics and science professor as well as a physics teacher.
Shelstrom is strongly against Rep. Mike Madigan and states that a vote for his opponent Kelly Burke is essentially a vote for Madigan. He is a proponent of pension reform, a stricter immigration policy and Medicaid reform. He is against tax breaks for "politically powerful businesses" and he opposes the expansion of gambling. Shelstrom believes that public employees "should be allowed to collectively bargain," but that there should be "severe limitations on public union ability to strike."
