Edward "Ed" Schock is an Illinois politician and former elementary school principal. He began service on the Elgin City Council after winning election in 1993, and he was re-elected in 1997. In 1999, Schock successfully contested incumbent Kevin Kelly for the office of Mayor of Elgin. He was re-elected in 2003 and 2007.

He married his wife Karen in June 1971. Schock is a lifelong Elgin resident and the couple has three adult children.

The Elgin government is dominated by Republicans

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 and no City Council member was opposed by a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 or independent when he ran for re-election. During his time on the City Council, he was part of a 4–3 majority opposition block to Mayor Kevin Kelly. In the mid-1990s, Elgin had extensive debates on how to manage its casino revenues. As a city councilman, his proposal that seniors be given a property tax

Property tax

A property tax is an ad valorem levy on the value of property that the owner is required to pay. The tax is levied by the governing authority of the jurisdiction in which the property is located; it may be paid to a national government, a federated state or a municipality...

 rebate because of surplus riverboat

Riverboat

A riverboat is a ship built boat designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury units constructed for entertainment enterprises, such...

 tax revenues made news outside of Illinois. Schock remained principal of Coleman Elementary School while on the city council.

His starting annual salary as mayor in 1999 was $7000, and he continued to serve as a principal until he retired in 2003. Day-to-day responsibilities fell to the full-time city manager. As a mayor, his city's success at managing its gambling-dependent economy and its relationship with the Grand Victoria Casino Elgin

Grand Victoria Casino Elgin

The Grand Victoria Casino Elgin is a riverboat casino in Elgin, Illinois, located about west of Chicago. It is 50% owned and operated by RBG, LLP, a subsidiary of Hyatt, and 50% by a subsidiary of MGM Resorts International, which acquired Mandalay Resort Group, the former 50% partner company, in...

 was well chronicled throughout the country. Revenues from the casino have helped pay for the Elgin Police Department building and a new town recreation center. In 2000, he lured Motorola

Motorola

Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...

to bring its distribution center to Elgin by using an Illinois state economic incentives package.