House Speaker John Boehner was in the Quad Cities on Monday, August 11, 2014, making a fundraising stop for congressional candidate and Republican Bobby Schilling.
Schilling is the former Congressman from the 17th Congressional District in Illinois. He is running against current Congresswoman and Democrat Cheri Bustos. In response to the Boehner visit, Democrats held a rally outside the employment security office in Rock Island. About 12 democrats showed up to protest Boehner's visit.
The democrats protested because they want the minimum wage raised in the state. Democrats want it raised from $8.25 an hour to $10 an hour. They believe that raising it would actually create jobs in the state, while Schilling's camp disagrees with that.
Speaker Boehner talked at about 11:30 a.m. at the Lavendar Crest Winery in Colona. The event was closed to the media, but the Schilling campaign says about 300 people attended. They also say the winery was standing room only.