DeKalb Times

Former Illinois 14th Congressional District candidate Mike Koolidge has joined the People Who Play By The Rules PAC as communications director and chief spokesman.

Koolidge has hoped to challenge embattled U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) but lost the June 28 primary, coming in third place with 20.6% of the vote in the five-way race.

Koolidge describes himself on his Twitter account as a “patriot, small biz owner, syndicated radio host, former U.S. Army captain & OIF1 veteran, airborne & proud Illinoisan."

He hosted a syndicated radio program, The Michael Koolidge Show, for 14 years.

“My love for talk radio and its impact on politics has never ceased, but part of why I ran for congress was to move beyond words and into real action," Koolidge said on Twitter. "My role at PBR PAC allows me to do just that, and I couldn’t be more excited about it!”

He noted to his audience and constituents that he is looking forward to the opportunity.

“I’ve been asked repeatedly if I’m coming back on the radio after my run for congress," he tweeted. "While I haven’t ruled it out completely in some form in the future, the opportunity offered by the PBR PAC is one I couldn’t pass up."

The move to political advocacy came less than two weeks after the primary defeat.

“So I've got a new gig," Koolidge said in another tweet. "Nope, not leaving the fray. Thank you @DanProft for the opportunity. Let's go!”

Dan Proft, who hosts Chicago’s Morning Answer on AM 560, noted Koolidge’s hiring.

"We are so pleased to have a talent like Mike join our team and bring his wealth of experience and creativity in crafting substantive, engaging content to the work we're doing at PBR PAC,” Proft, president of PBR PAC, said in a press release.

The PAC noted its intent in the press release:

“The 'PBR' PAC is a political action committee whose mission is to support gubernatorial candidates and candidates for local offices, particularly school boards, committed to ending the fleecing of people who play by the rules and are gamed by a political system they finance. It will focus especially on equal protection and accountability under the law – American ideals increasingly neglected by too many in the modern political world."

In a candidate statement prior to the election published by WTTW, Koolidge noted his many stances including a desire to control the border crisis, lower gas prices, reinstate parental rights in the school setting and said crime control needs to take precedence and “global war is not inevitable.”  

Koolidge graduated with a political science degree from Boston University in 1997 as an ROTC cadet. He also has a master’s degree in communication from Northwestern University.

He served as a captain in the Iraqi Freedom I conflict in 2003 and moved back to Illinois.

The first affiliate to pick up his radio show was 1360 WLBK in DeKalb.

He has also served as a Republican precinct committeeman for more than a decade and is a longtime member of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in DeKalb.