Rock Island Today

Bill Falwell’s agenda in seeking to oust U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL) in the 17th Congressional District centers on returning power to the people.

“I’m running on a platform I call liberty legislation,” Falwell told the Rock Island Today. “If the two bills I have put forth are passed, it will restore America to people ruling the government instead of government ruling the people.”

The two bills Falwell has in mind are the Reins Act and the Federal Transparency Act. The former would mandate that Congress approve all new major legislation and review that currently in place, and the latter would stipulate that the Government Accountability Office conduct audits of the Federal Reserve Bank Board and Federal Reserve banks over the next 12 months.

Bill Falwell

But before the 63-year-old real estate broker can get to any of that, or even take on Bustos, he has to face off against Republican challenger and Galesburg businessman Mark Kleine in the 2018 primary.

Ultimately, Falwell said his run can best be described as a movement and not just a campaign. 

“In 2016, more than 80 percent of Americans at one point or another cast votes for either Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders,” he said. “That’s an indictment of the entire government system and tells you what people want is real change.”

Beyond that, Falwell said his platform will focus on jobs, the economy and further aiding Trump in "draining the swamp."

“Bustos is a big supporter of the swamp,” he said. “The last industry she worked for before going to Congress was health care. She’s pushing this crooked system and fighting the president. We need liberty. We have 98 million Americans that are out of work.”

Falwell, who resides in Galena, previously ran against Bustos as a libertarian write-in candidate in 2014.    

“I will ask Cheri why it took her five years to open up an office here in Peoria,” he said. “She did it because she’s feeling the pressure. She knows America has had enough of what she stands for and that Trump won this district in 2016.”

Besides Peoria and Rock Island, the 17th Congressional District includes Carroll, Fulton, Henderson, Henry, Jo Daviess, Knox, Mercer,, Stephenson, Warren and Whiteside counties.