Steven Tilley (born June 11, 1971) is a former

Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives Speakers of the Missouri House of Representatives are (listed by year they assumed office): * 1820 James Caldwell Democratic-Republican - St. Genevieve * 1821 Henry S. Geyer Democratic-Republican - St. Louis * 1826 Alexander Stuart Democrati ...

. He represented District 106 (

Perry Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also mad ...

, St. Francois and Ste. Genevieve Counties) in the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, Tilley was elected to the House in November 2004. He became the

Majority leader In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.

in January 2008. On August 13, 2012 Tilley resigned from the Missouri House of Representatives. Tilley was elected Speaker on November 4, 2010 after the Republicans picked up 17 seats in the 2010 election. On December 13, 2010, five weeks after being elected Speaker, Tilley altered his campaign committee in order to run for Lieutenant Governor of Missouri in 2012.

Background and education

Education

A 1989 graduate of Perryville High School in

Perryville, Missouri Perryville is a city in Perry County, Missouri, United States. The population was 8,555 at the 2020 United States census. Perryville is the county seat of Perry County. History Perryville was selected the county seat of Perry County by Robert ...

, Tilley received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree from Southeast Missouri State University in 1994 and received his

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

of Optometry from the University of Missouri-St. Louis School of Optometry in 1998.Member Biography - Retrieved March 29, 2009

Marriage and Family Life

Tilley lives in Perryville. He has two children: Kourtney and Korrin. Tilley and his wife Kellie filed for divorce on September 14, 2011 after 18 years of marriage. The divorce was cited as a reason for him dropping out of the lieutenant governor race as well as resigning in August 2012 as speaker of the Missouri House five months before his term expired.

Group Memberships

Tilley is a member of the Perryville Optimist Club, Missouri Right to Life, National Rifle Association, Missouri Optometric Association, American Optometric Association, N.F.I.B. and the Missouri Chamber of Commerce. He is also a CHAMPS mentor and attends Immanuel Lutheran Church of Perryville.

Political career

Tilley served in the Missouri House from 2005 to 2012. During that time, Tilley has served as the Chairman of the House Special Committee on General Laws, Chairman of the House Ethics Committee and as Majority Floor Leader.

Speaker of the Missouri House

Republicans in the Missouri House had their biggest majority in history (106-57). Among his most visible events was erecting a statue of

Rush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American conservative political commentator who was the host of '' The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nationally syndicated on AM and FM r ...

in the capitol in the Hall of Famous Missourians. As Speaker of the House, Tilley served as an ex-officio member of all committees of the House. Additionally, he was specifically assigned to the House Ethics and Administration and Accounts.

Flooding Cairo controversy

In April 2011, Speaker Tilley received national media attention for controversial remarks he made about Cairo, Illinois, a poor town on the Illinois side of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

. Due to heavy rainfall and high water levels on the river, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was considering a plan to destroy a levee on the Missouri side of the river in hopes of lowering the flood level and preventing severe flood damage to Cairo and other downstream areas. Destroying the levee would have flooded several hundred thousand acres of Missouri farmland. When reporters asked if he would rather see Missouri farmland flooded or the town of Cairo, Tilley responded "Cairo. I've been there. Trust me. Cairo." And further said "Have you been to Cairo? OK, then you known what I'm saying." Tilley later issued an apology:

I was asked a question about blowing up a dam in Missouri and the negative consequences that happened to Missouri. As the Speaker of the House, (I believe) my first responsibility is to Missourians. And in my effort to defend them, I went on to say some pretty insensitive and inappropriate remarks about Cairo

When later interviewed by a Missouri television station, Tilley said the accusations that he was a racist are ridiculous and that when one does as many interviews as he does, one is bound to say something stupid. The Corps of Engineers destroyed the levee on May 3, 2011, flooding 130,000 acres of Missouri farmland but saving the town of Cairo from flooding.

Electoral history

References

External links

Steven Tilley's Official House Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tilley, Steven 1971 births Living people People from Perryville, Missouri Southeast Missouri State University alumni University of Missouri–St. Louis alumni American optometrists Speakers of the Missouri House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives Politicians from Wiesbaden