It was on this date in both 2019, 2020, as well as 2021, that “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day” first profiled Keith Wheeler, a member of the Illinois House of Representatives first elected in 2014 who first got on our radar back in 2016, when he co-sponsored legislation in Illinois that was designed to throw single mothers and their children off of government assistance if the child’s birth certificate did not have a father listed, which opponents pounced on for its misogyny at targeting single mothers, but also noting that there are a lot of reasons a mother might personally not want a biological father listed on a birth certificate, like if they were the victim of rape, incest, or sexual assault. When confronted over his sexist bill, Wheeler responded to the media by running and hiding, refusing any comment on why he felt his “small government” solution was necessary.

When we take a wider look at Wheeler’s voting record, we’re far from reassured that he has the people’s best interests at heart:

• May 19th, 2015: Wheeler votes against HB 217, a ban on gay conversion therapy on minors, in spite of it being considered a human rights violation by many international humanitarian groups.
• April 21st, 2016: Keith Wheeler votes against HB 5576, a bill which would have guaranteed that insurance companies would have to cover birth control on their insurance plans.
• May 30th, 2017: Wheeler votes against SB 81, an attempt by Illinois Democrats to raise the state’s minimum wage.
• October 26th, 2017: In the wake of the Las Vegas massacre, Keith Wheeler still votes against HB 4117, an attempt to ban the possession of bump stocks in the state.
• February 28th, 2018: Wheeler votes against HB 1465, an attempt on raising the age limit on people who can purchase assault weapons to 21, in the wake of several mass shootings carried out in schools around the country.
• May 30th, 2018: Wheeler votes against SJRCA 4, refusing to support the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in Illinois.

Keith Wheeler has rapidly risen to be the Assistant GOP House Floor Leader in Illinois and spent a lot of 2020 whining about Covid-19 precautions being mandated by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, whining about “the burden it places on businesses” to enforce something as simple as wearing masks. Regrettably, with all the ass-backwards priorities of Keith Wheeler, he was regrettably re-elected to a fourth term in office in 2020 with 56% of the vote. We have noted that his social media feed seems to have become non-stop ad space for a cyber security company, and we’re not sure what to make of that. It would be interesting to see if they’ve made any campaign donations to him, though, when his finance reports get filed…      

One Year Ago, February 11th, 2021: Keith Wheeler (IL)… 2021 Update
Two Years Ago, February 11th, 2020: Keith Wheeler (IL)… 2020 Update
Three Years Ago, February 11th, 2019: Keith Wheeler (IL)… Original Profile
Four Years Ago, February 11th, 2018: Patrick Meehan (PA)
Five Years Ago, February 11th, 2017: Rick Morris (VA)… 2017 Update
Six Years Ago. February 11th, 2016: Rick Morris (VA)… Original Profile
Seven Years Ago, February 11th, 2015: Dave Daubenmire (OH)