Politics & Power Quote by John Shimkus

A brag dressed up as a statistic, Shimkus's line is the kind of civic boosterism that plays well at a rotary lunch and even better in a reelection mailer. "Number two exporter" sounds like a podium finish, not a policy argument; it converts a sprawling, messy agricultural economy into a clean rank you can chant. The specificity of "feed grains" does double work: it narrows the claim just enough to be defensible, while still letting "Nation's" and "exporter" borrow the grandeur of global trade.

The intent is local validation with national framing. Shimkus isn't just praising corn farmers; he's translating their labor into geopolitical relevance. Exporting feed grains implies Illinois isn't merely feeding itself, it's feeding other people's livestock, underwriting meat and dairy systems far beyond the state line. That matters in a region where farming can feel culturally sidelined: the quote insists Illinois agriculture is not quaint, it's consequential.

The subtext is coalition-building. By spotlighting exporters, he aligns farm interests with business-friendly narratives about competitiveness, markets, and American abundance. It also quietly preemptively defends the policy architecture that makes such exports possible: subsidies, crop insurance, infrastructure spending, and trade posture. If Illinois is "number two", then protecting the conditions that keep it there becomes patriotic common sense rather than contested politics.

Contextually, this lands in a Midwestern political tradition where agriculture is both identity and leverage. It's a reminder that in Washington, a state's clout is often measured in commodities, and pride is a way of laundering hard economic demands into something that sounds like shared achievement.