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Mark Kirk

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For the American art director, see Mark-Lee Kirk.
Mark Kirk
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Illinois's 10th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2001
Preceded byJohn Porter
Personal details
Political partyRepublican
SpouseKimberly Vertolli (2001-2009) (divorced)[1]
ResidenceHighland Park, Illinois[2]
Alma materCornell University
London School of Economics
Georgetown University Law Center
OccupationAttorney, Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserves
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Navy
Years of service1989-present
RankCommander Insignia of Commander, United States Navy
UnitU.S. Navy Reserves

‘"Mark Steven Kirk"’ (born September 15th, 1959) is an American politician who is currently serving his 5th term as a member of the US Congress, representing the 10th district of Illinois. He is a member of the House Appropriations Committee, co-chairman of the GOP Tuesday Group, and a founder of the bipartisan House US-China Working Group, a caucus in the House of Representatives. [4] [5] [6].

Congressman Kirk is currently the Republican nominee for the 2010 Senate Election in Illinois.


Personal History

Mark Kirk was born in Champaign, Illinois to Judith Reeve and Francis Gabriel Kirk [7][8]. After graduating from New Trier East High School in 1977, he attended the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and then Cornell University, where he graduated cum laude with a B.A. in History.[9] Kirk later obtained a masters degree from the London School of Economics and a law degree from Georgetown Law School.[10][11]

In February 1998, Mark met his future wife, Kimberly Vertolli, a Naval Intelligence Officer, by chance, while the two on duty together at the Pentagon [12] . “It was supposed to be my weekend off … but Saddam had just thrown out the weapons inspectors and we were preparing for a strike on Baghdad” Kimberly told Capitol File Magazine [13]. The two married in August of 2001 [14].

After 8 years of marriage, the two separated, finalizing their divorce in the summer of 2009. Reports have noted that the divorce was an amicable one and the two remain close friends [15].

Military Service

In 1989, Mark Kirk commissioned as an intelligence officer in the Naval Reserve. He continues to serve today, holding the rank of Commander [16][17][18][19]. Mark Kirk has served during conflicts with Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti, and Bosnia. He became the first House member to serve in an imminent danger zone since 1942 when he deployed to Afghanistan in December, 2008. Mark Kirk completed a second deployment to Afghanistan in January, 2010 [20][21][22]

Medals

  • Navy Commendation Medal; Navy Achievement Medal; Global War on Terror Service Medal; National Service Defense Medal; Joint Unit Achievement Medal.[23]

Career Prior to Congress

Kirk worked on the staff of John Porter, the former holder of Illinois’s 10th Congressional District. From 1991-1993, Kirk was the Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State in the U.S. State Department. Kirk was an attorney for Baker & McKenzie from 1993-1995. In 1995, Kirk was named as a counsel to the House International Relations Committee. He remained counsel to the House International Relations Committee until 1999.[24]

U.S. House tenure

Elections

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois, 2008 § District 10
See also: Illinois's 10th congressional district election, 2006

Kirk defeated 10 candidates for Congress in the 2000 Republican primary. He then won in general elections with 51% (2000), 69% (2002), 64% (2004), 53% (2006) and 54% (2008). His opponents were Lauren Beth Gash, Hank Perrit, Lee Goodman and, most recently, Dan Seals (06 & 08). In 2008, Kirk defeated Democratic challenger Dan Seals by a six-point margin.

Committees and Leadership Roles

Kirk is the Founder and Co-Chair of the House U.S.-China Working Group, House Iran Working Group, and the Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues.[25]

Campaign for Senate

Main article: United States Senate elections in Illinois, 2010

On July 20, 2009, Kirk announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Roland Burris. On February 2, 2010, Kirk won the Republican primary with 56.6% of the vote; no other candidate had as much as 20% [26].

Repute of Military Record

In June of 2010 the Washington Post reported that Kirk claimed to have been named the “Intelligence Officer of the Year,” when in reality the award was given to his unit. Controversy regarding Kirk's military record continued as other statements surfaced, such as Kirk stating “the last time I was in Iraq I was in uniform, flying at 20,000 feet, and the Iraqi Air Defense network was shooting at us.” Kirk has since clarified his previous statements; “I simply misremembered it wrong,” he told The Chicago Sun-Times, referring to his military record. [27].

On December 18, 2009 Undersecretary of Defense Gail H. McGinn noted in a memo that Kirk had on two previous active duty periods engaged in politicking allegedly in violation of Department of Defense regulations; on one occasion Congressman Kirk commented on Rod Blagojevich's arrest and posted a tweet while on duty with the Navy in Afghanistan. [28] According to the Pentagon, Kirk was required to sign a statement acknowledging he knew the rules and wouldn't break them again. [29]

Teaching Record

Kirk's claims of having been a teacher are based on two experiences. While he was a undergraduate student at Cornell he was a teacher's assistant at Forest Home Chapel nursery school and after getting his masters degree Kirk taught one year at a private school in London[30].

Kirk also expressed anxiety about students bringing firearms to class. Kirk said, “I did leave the teaching profession, but if we had addressed some of the teacher development issues, which I want to raise with you, I might have stayed.”[30]

Electoral history

Illinois's 10th congressional district: Results 2000–2008[31]
Year Democrat Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct
2000 Lauren Beth Gash 115,924 49% Mark Kirk 121,582 51%
2002 Henry H. Perritt, Jr. 58,300 31% Mark Kirk 128,611 69%
2004 Lee Goodman 99,218 36% Mark Kirk 177,493 64%
2006 Daniel J. Seals 94,278 47% Mark Kirk 107,929 53% *
2008 Daniel J. Seals 138,176 47% Mark Kirk 153,082 53%
*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2006, write-ins received 1 votes.

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ "About Mark". U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
  3. ^ "Barack Obama, candidate for President, is 'UCC'". United Church of Christ. February 9, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2009.
  4. ^ http://www.tgpac.com/docs/pages/about_us.aspx
  5. ^ http://kirk.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1306:the-bipartisan-us-china-working-group&catid=77
  6. ^ http://appropriations.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=95&Itemid=138
  7. ^ http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=130075
  8. ^ http://kirk.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=350&Itemid=93
  9. ^ http://cornellsun.com/section/news/content/2010/02/15/mark-kirk-%E2%80%9981-campaigns-illinois-senate-seat-after-winning-primary
  10. ^ http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-01-10/news/chi-kirk-senate-10-bdogjan10_1_senate-seat-north-shore-republicans/2
  11. ^ http://cbs2chicago.com/voterguide/mark.kirk.senate.2.1423262.html
  12. ^ http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2006/05/kirk_lawmakers_wife_splits_for.html
  13. ^ http://www.law.northwestern.edu/news/article_full.cfm?eventid=2592
  14. ^ http://www.wingsprogram.com/pdfs/Kimberly%20Vertolli-Kirk%20Bio.pdf
  15. ^ .http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/05/rep-mark-kirks-divorce-to_n_212082.html
  16. ^ http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=ADHB&p_theme=adhb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=12590280A9DE9CD8&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
  17. ^ http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NS&p_theme=ns&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=125E628A5D228AB8&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
  18. ^ http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/01/06/More-Afghan-troops-needed-US-rep-says/UPI-65661231261539/
  19. ^ http://cbs2chicago.com/voterguide/mark.kirk.senate.2.1423262.html
  20. ^ http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=ADHB&p_theme=adhb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=12590280A9DE9CD8&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
  21. ^ http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NS&p_theme=ns&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=125E628A5D228AB8&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
  22. ^ http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/01/06/More-Afghan-troops-needed-US-rep-says/UPI-65661231261539/
  23. ^ http://cbs2chicago.com/voterguide/mark.kirk.senate.2.1423262.html
  24. ^ http://cbs2chicago.com/voterguide/mark.kirk.senate.2.1423262.html
  25. ^ http://cbs2chicago.com/voterguide/mark.kirk.senate.2.1423262.html
  26. ^ http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/32364.html
  27. ^ Pallasch, Abdon (June 4, 2010). "Kirk says he 'misremembered' military record". Chicago, IL: Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
  28. ^ http://www.kansascity.com/2010/06/15/2018129/pentagon-kirk-mixed-politics-with.html
  29. ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100615/ap_on_el_se/us_illinois_senate_kirk
  30. ^ a b Zeleny, Jeff (June 18, 2010). "School Officials Say Candidate Overstated His Role". New York, NY: New York Times. Retrieved 2010-06-21. Cite error: The named reference "New York Times" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  31. ^ "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Illinois's 10th congressional district
2001–present 		Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by
Jack Ryan
(withdrew)
Alan Keyes
(general election)
 Republican Party nominee for United States Senator from Illinois
(Class 3)
2010 		Succeeded by
Current nominee
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