A history of close business dealings between Rep. Aaron Schock and campaign donors

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock has built much of his personal wealth over a decade through real estate investments with political donors, an Associated Press review found.

The Peoria Republican’s relationships with other contributors, which afforded him flights on private planes and other expenses, already are under scrutiny.

Donors built, financed and later purchased a house Schock owned as an investment in Dunlap. Schock owns a stake in a Peoria apartment complex involving other contributors. And he pushed for a federal appropriation that might have benefited a donor’s development project, an AP review found.

Schock, a 33-year-old rising star named last year to a mid-level leadership role in the House, has disclosed personal wealth in a range centered on $1.4 million. He’s made precocious business acumen a part of his appeal since joining Congress in 2009, sometimes calling himself a real estate developer.

Financial reports indicate Schock may have more than doubled his wealth since he was elected to Congress, although it is impossible to determine his gains precisely because values of his assets and liabilities are only reported in wide ranges.

Amid ethics complaints concerning his taxpayer-funded expenses and flights aboard donors’ aircraft, Schock’s business entanglements with contributors in several projects raise questions about the overlap between his personal finances and their political interests. Politicians can do business deals with donors as long as the terms are commercially reasonable.

Schock declined through a spokesman to discuss his finances with the AP. But he told the Journal Star on Friday evening that his investments are part of his business history going back for a decade and a half.

“I began working at a very early age, opening my IRA at 14, started investing in real estate at age 18 and continue to do so today,” he said. “Furthermore, when running for public office, my family, friends and business associates who know me best are naturally some of my best supporters.”

He’s previously also told the paper that his real estate investments were above board.

A watchdog group has called for an ethics investigation amid revelations he used congressional money to redesign his office in the style of the TV show “Downton Abbey.” He also billed taxpayers or his campaigns tens of thousands of dollars in private air travel on donors’ planes. His office said he repaid some of those charges and is reviewing others.

Schock’s business career began early and helped to feed a real estate career that began in his late teens. He started doing online trading and database management in middle school and later worked as a ticket agent for a licensed broker called VIP Tours.

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