Representative Gerald C. Weller

Gerald Cameron Weller (born July 7, 1957) is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois from 1995 to 2009. He represented Illinois’s 11th congressional district for seven consecutive terms, contributing to the legislative process during a significant period in American history. Weller was born in Streator, Illinois, to LaVern and Marilyn Weller and was raised on his family’s hog farm in Dwight, Illinois, an agricultural background that would later shape his education and early professional focus.

Weller attended the University of Illinois, where he studied agriculture and received his degree in 1979. Soon after completing his education, he began his career in public service and government. From 1980 to 1981, he served as a staff member for U.S. Representative Tom Corcoran of Illinois. He subsequently worked as assistant to the director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture and, from 1981 to 1985, as an aide to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture John R. Block. These early roles placed him at the intersection of federal and state agricultural policy and provided him with experience in both legislative and executive-branch operations.

Weller first sought elective office in the Illinois General Assembly in the 1986 general election, when he challenged incumbent Democratic Representative Ray A. Christensen in the 85th district. In the official result, Weller prevailed by a four-vote margin, 14,217 to 14,213, and was sworn in as a state representative. Christensen contested the outcome, and the Illinois House of Representatives established a House Committee on Election Contests to review the matter. In a party-line vote, the House voted to unseat Weller and seat Christensen. Undeterred, Weller ran again in 1988. After Christensen opted to retire, Weller was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives, defeating Democratic candidate and Grundy County Clerk Lana Phillips. He served in the Illinois House until he was succeeded by Grundy County Board member Stephen Spangler.

In 1994, following the retirement of Democratic U.S. Representative George Sangmeister, Weller sought and won election to the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois’s 11th congressional district. He emerged from a crowded Republican primary and defeated fellow State Representative Frank Giglio in the general election. Taking office on January 3, 1995, he served seven terms until January 3, 2009. During his tenure in Congress, Weller served on the Committee on Ways and Means, including the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, where he was ranking member, and the Subcommittee on Trade. He also served on the Committee on International Relations (later Foreign Affairs) until 2006. Within the House Republican Conference, he held a leadership role as Deputy Minority Whip. As a member of the House of Representatives, Weller participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his constituents during a period marked by debates over welfare reform, tax policy, trade, national security, and the Iraq War.

Weller’s legislative interests and accomplishments reflected both his district’s needs and his broader policy priorities. He was a strong supporter of free trade and traveled extensively throughout Latin America and the Caribbean to build relationships with public- and private-sector leaders. He was a leading advocate for the U.S.–Panama trade agreement and a supporter of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), consistent with his long-standing support for free-trade agreements. He worked to eliminate the so‑called “marriage penalty” in the federal tax code and supported the use of tax incentives to redevelop brownfield former industrial land, collaborating with Democrats such as Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley on redevelopment proposals. Weller championed the creation of the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery and the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie at the former Joliet Arsenal, and he supported associated redevelopment that included the Deer Run Industrial Park and the CenterPoint Intermodal Center, a major freight transport hub. He also supported plans for the Illiana Expressway. In 1995, he received an Environmental Protector Award from the Chicago Audubon Society for his political service. After a release of tritium from Exelon’s Braidwood and Dresden nuclear power plants, Weller wrote to Exelon Corporation expressing concern and recommending that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission investigate the facilities.

On national policy, Weller’s record included support for military and veterans’ issues, tax policy, and labor standards. On October 10, 2002, he joined the 296–133 majority in voting to authorize the use of military force in Iraq. He sponsored legislation to expand concurrent receipt for wounded military veterans, though the measure did not pass, and he introduced a bill to make the residential energy efficient property credit permanent, which did not advance out of committee. During the 110th Congress, he voted in favor of raising the federal minimum wage. His political career also drew scrutiny. A 2002 Federal Election Commission audit found that a fund used for his 2000 re‑election campaign had received nearly $11,000 in contributions that appeared to violate federal rules on the size and source of donations; his campaign returned all questioned contributions while denying any intentional wrongdoing. He accepted campaign contributions from two associates of former Representative Randy “Duke” Cunningham who were later convicted; his spokesman stated that the donations likely stemmed from Weller’s support of the research and development tax credit and that the money was subsequently donated to a charity in Oregon. Weller was among 12 members of Congress subpoenaed to testify in the 2007 trial of defense contractor Brent R. Wilkes, but the subpoenas were withdrawn when it became clear the trial judge would quash them, and he did not testify.

Weller’s personal and financial affairs became a subject of public controversy late in his congressional career. On October 25, 2006, the Chicago Reader reported that he had disclosed ownership of three parcels of land in Nicaragua on his congressional financial disclosure forms—purchased in 2002, April 2004, and December 2005—but that notarized bills of sale indicated he had been involved in three additional Nicaraguan land transactions that were not reported. The failure to list all properties was alleged to violate the Ethics in Government Act and the False Statements Accountability Act of 1996. Weller’s attorney declined public comment, citing attorney–client privilege, and his campaign manager stated that Weller did not own six parcels in Nicaragua and had fully disclosed his holdings. On September 7, 2007, the Chicago Tribune published the results of its own investigation into his land dealings in the Playa Coco resort area, reporting discrepancies in declared prices and the number of transactions; for example, while Weller listed only one Nicaraguan property purchase on his 2005 disclosure form, Nicaraguan property records showed that he had bought or sold at least eight pieces of land. No formal inquiry was initiated by the Democratically controlled House of Representatives, but on September 21, 2007, Weller announced that he would not seek another term, citing a desire to spend more time with his family. During the 2008 financial crisis, he was the only member of the House of Representatives to abstain on the vote for the proposed bailout of the U.S. financial system.

Weller’s personal life intersected with his public role, particularly in the area of foreign policy. He has been married twice. In July 2004, he announced his engagement to three-term Guatemalan congresswoman Zury Mayté Ríos Sosa, a leader in the Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG) and the daughter of former Guatemalan head of state Efraín Ríos Montt. The couple married on November 20, 2004, at Ríos Montt’s home in Antigua Guatemala; it was Weller’s second marriage and her fourth. Following Hispanic naming customs, she has used the combined surname Ríos Sosa and, during their marriage, sometimes styled herself “Ríos-Montt de Weller.” In August 2006, their daughter, Marizú Catherine, was born in a hospital in Guatemala City. Prior to his marriage, Weller pledged that he would not vote on legislation involving solely the United States and Guatemala. His advocacy and vote for CAFTA, a multinational agreement that included Guatemala, drew criticism from some who argued it conflicted with that pledge, although both he and his wife were strong supporters of the accord. Weller and Ríos later divorced.

After leaving Congress in January 2009, Weller transitioned to work in the private sector while maintaining ties to public policy. As of 2015, he was the managing principal of New World Group Public Affairs, a lobbying and public affairs firm with offices in Washington, D.C., Florida, and Guatemala, reflecting his longstanding interest in Latin American affairs and trade policy. He also served as a Global Development Officer for VIPTV, an Internet Protocol television (IPTV) company. In these roles, Weller continued to engage with issues of international commerce, infrastructure, and economic development, drawing on his experience in Congress and his earlier work in agriculture and trade.