- Pritzker Fellows
- Former Fellows
- Bob Dold
Bob Dold
Former U.S. Representative from Illinois
Spring 2017 Pritzker Fellow
Seminar Series: “The True Art of the Deal: Getting Things Done in Washington”
Biography
Bob Dold recently left the United States House of Representatives after serving two terms representing Illinois 10th Congressional district. Congressman Dold served on the Financial Services Committee and the powerful Ways & Means Committee where he was focused on access to capital for small businesses, tax reform, healthcare reform and tackling poverty issues plaguing communities across our nation.
Dold has been ranked as one of the most independent bi-partisan members of the US Congress. Dold is an original member of the No Labels movement which, Dold stated, he hoped would help to end the gridlock in Washington, DC. He served as the Co-Chair of the Tuesday Group, an informal caucus of moderate Republicans focused on pragmatic governing solutions. An editorial in The Daily Herald noted Dold’s spirit of bipartisanship and called for more Bob Dolds in Congress. in 2015, The Lugar Center, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit founded by former Senator Richard Lugar released a Bipartisan Index in cooperation with Georgetown University, ranking Congressman Dold the fifth most bipartisan congressman (out of 438) in the 114th Congress
After high school, Bob continued a family tradition and earned a BA from Denison University. His educational credentials include a law degree from Indiana University, and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Prior to being elected to Congress, Bob ran Rose Pest Solutions, a small business founded in 1860. It is the oldest pest management company in the United States. Rose Pest Solutions is headquartered in Northfield, IL, and serves families and businesses throughout Northern Illinois and beyond. As a small business owner and operator, Bob has faced many of the challenges confronting business leaders who struggle to remain competitive and successful, and he understands the pressures on families to work hard and save money for the future in an uncertain economy.
Bob gathered extensive and diverse experience both in Washington and business. He served as an investigative counsel for the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, where he worked on campaign finance reform.
Today Bob lives on the North Shore, just a few blocks away from his childhood home, his church, and the public schools he attended. Bob and his wife of ten years, Danielle, are the proud parents of three children - Harper, Bobby and Honor.
Bob is also an active member of his local community. For the past seventeen years he has been the Scoutmaster for Troop 13 Senior Scouts, the same troop where he became an Eagle Scout. The ideals of the Eagle Scouts - integrity, personal responsibility and community leadership - describe Bob’s personal perspective and compelled him to run for public office.
Seminars
“The True Art of the Deal: Getting Things Done in Washington”
During Congressman Bob Dold’s two terms representing Illinois 10th District in the U.S. House of Representatives, he was not only ranked as one of the most independent, bipartisan and effective lawmakers in Washington, he also had the unique distinction of representing the most Democratic District of any Republican congressman in the entire country. During that time he also had the rare experience of running for his congressional seat as an incumbent, a challenger and in an open-seat race when the seat was being vacated. In his seminars, Congressman Dold will draw upon his experience as both a candidate and a congressman and discuss the strategies he used to unite people from across the political spectrum to advance both policies and his political campaigns. He’ll also take a real-time look at news of the day and give an insider’s analysis of the players and the politics as battles are fought and alliances forged on Capitol Hill during the spring legislative session.
A confluence of events and circumstance have brought our country to one of the most volatile, unprecedented and unpredictable periods in American political history. While few initially predicted that Donald Trump would win the GOP presidential nomination, far fewer predicted that he would defeat Hillary Clinton and win the presidency. His stunning campaign victory upended much of what pundits and politicians alike thought they knew about political campaigns, and the early days of his Administration have been defined by an abandonment of traditional governing protocols, fierce partisan division and a reset in the relationship between politicians and the press. During the campaign, and into the first 100 days, Republicans and Democrats alike have been unsure of how to position themselves with the Trump Administration and things are in flux.
This seminar will examine the issues that propelled Donald Trump into the White House, and their impact on Congress - we’ll look at the status of his policy platform on the Hill, the internal dynamics and power bases of the 115th Congress, and a prescription for how Washington can address its most pressing issues in these wild and uncertain times.
What greets a freshman congressman when they arrive in DC? How do they get on committees? How do they form alliances and get their first bills passed? How do they balance party and constituent pressure, particularly when they are at odds with each other? In this seminar, we’ll examine the inner workings of Congress and how a representative navigates the Hill.
Following completion of the national census every ten years, politicians and political parties across our country conspire to preserve or grow their grip on power in a process called redistricting. The boundaries of congressional and state legislative districts are determined on a state-by-state basis. In most states, the majority party in the state government controls the map-making process, which has become a partisan political tool to strengthen or grow their existing majority and weaken or eliminate the chance for an opposing party’s candidate to compete for the seat
The byproduct of allowing politicians to pick their voters, as opposed to having voters pick their politicians, has been a deepening of the Red-Blue divide and a purging of moderate politicians from both parties. Around the country, gerrymandering is increasingly being challenged - in January, a Federal Court struck down Wisconsin legislative maps as unconstitutional. This seminar will explore the impact that partisan redistricting has on Washington, and the efforts in Illinois and across the country to amend this process.
While many politicians talk of bipartisanship, few truly embody it and even fewer have good reason to try in Washington. With a House of Representatives comprised primarily of deep red and deep blue seats, there is little incentive for most lawmakers to seek middle ground. Bob Dold is the rare exception to that rule. Consistently ranked as one of the most independent, bipartisan lawmakers in Congress, Dold had both an incentive and responsibility to seek out the middle ground because he represented by far the most Democratic district of any Republican in the nation. In this seminar we will examine the role that the dying breed of political moderates plays in our governing process and how those few who remain in Congress may still impact federal policy.
Special Guest: David Stern, former Chief of Staff to Congressman Dold
From 2009 through 2016, Bob Dold was constantly running for Congress in Illinois 10th District. While he was also busy serving the District as its voice in Washington, the Dold campaign never stopped - nor could it. As the member of Congress who represented the most Democratic district in the nation to be held by a Republican, Bob Dold had to work a lot harder both in Congress and on the campaign trail than most of his Republican colleagues in Congress. On paper, Illinois 10th District is deep blue and was drawn to be “unwinnable” for a Republican following the 2012 redistricting process. Nevertheless, after a loss in 2012, Dold managed to recapture the seat in 2014 and lost narrowly in 2016 despite Hillary Clinton’s massive 30-point margin win over Donald Trump in IL-10.
This seminar will examine the challenges of running a district heavily predisposed to vote for the opposing party and how to appeal to those voters who ultimately will determine the outcome.
America’s immigration policy has been a constant fixture in the headlines this year, in large part due to President Trump’s Executive Order imposing a temporary travel ban on immigrants from six nations that have been associated with terrorism. However, we can expect the broader debate over America’s legal immigration system, our border security and our policies impacting the 11 million undocumented individuals in our country to continue to grow under the Trump Administration. We will explore the different components of the immigration debate and consider the likelihood of compromise that could lead to a deal on comprehensive immigration reform.
One of the few bipartisan issues remaining in congress is the infrastructure that fuels our economy. The health of our roads, rail, waterways, airports, and sea ports is a key indicator of how our economy will grow. However, the proposed trillion dollar infrastructure package is fraught with political problems. This seminar will look at how the votes can be assembled to pass a bill in an era without earmarks. Is there a way to pay for it? Or will members of congress be willing to add to an already stifling National debt?
Special Guest: Bill Shuster, U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania
From the rise of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart as a primary “news source” for many Americans to SNL’s constant and often viral skewering of America’s political class, political satire has garnered growing influence in American culture and possibly on voter behavior as well. This seminar will consider the role that political satire plays in our culture, on how we perceive our elected officials and our leading political parties.
Special Guest: Scott Stantis, Chicago Tribune Editorial Cartoonist