Steven Tilley

Steven Tilley (born June 11, 1971) is a lobbyist and former Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives.

He represented District 106 (Perry, St. Francois and Ste. Genevieve Counties) in the Missouri House of Representatives.

A 1989 graduate of Perryville High School in Perryville, Missouri, Tilley received a Bachelor of Science degree from Southeast Missouri State University in 1994 and received his Doctorate of Optometry from the University of Missouri-St. Louis School of Optometry in 1998.

Tilley lives in Perryville.

He has two children: Kourtney and Korrin.

A Republican, Tilley was elected to the House in November 2004.

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.

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 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.

He became the Majority leader in January 2008.

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.

Tilley and his wife Kellie filed for divorce on September 14, 2011 after 18 years of marriage.

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.

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.

Tilley formed the lobbyist firm Strategic Capitol Consulting shortly after his term as Speaker ended.

Clients have included Conte Enterprise Holdings, and Jefferson County, Missouri.

Tilley is a lobbyist for Torch Electronics, which owns and operates video machines at gas stations and convenience stores, and Warrenton Oil, which operates convenience stores.

The legality of the machines are in question due to gray areas in state gambling regulations.

On August 13, 2012 Tilley resigned from the Missouri House of Representatives.

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.

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.

Torch spent $657,648 in political donations between 2018-2023, primarily through PACs managed by Tilley.

In 2023, attorney general Andrew Bailey withdrew from a lawsuit between both companies and Missouri State Highway Patrol after receiving donations from five of Tilley's PACs.

In 2024, state treasurer Vivek Malek told legislators that he chose to place advertisements on Torch machines following a meeting arranged by Tilley in Torch owner Steve Miltenberger's private hanger in Chesterfield.