PEORIA — Former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock quickly threw cold water on reports published elsewhere, including by a Peoria TV station, that he was taking steps to run for Congress again in Peoria.

The former lawmaker said that a recent Federal Election Commission filing has been misconstrued and does not signal an intent to run for his old 18th District seat.

Schock has kept his "Schock for Congress" campaign account active since his resignation in March 2015 and paid a series of legal bills out of it during a protracted investigation into his spending by federal prosecutors that the committee resolved earlier this year with an agreement to pay fines.

He said the recent filing on the account "simply changed the treasurer (position on the account) back to me." FEC documents confirm the previous treasurer had been listed as Paul Kilgore.

The account's funds and activity have dwindled in recent years, and Schock said that "we don't need a big third-party compliance firm like we had been using. They're expensive."

Since leaving Congress, Schock has been splitting his time between Peoria and southern California. In an interview earlier this year, he didn't rule out a return to political life but suggested that he had higher priorities in the immediate term.