Mark Kirk
Mark Kirk | |
---|---|
![]() | |
United States Senator from Illinois | |
Assumed office November 29, 2010 Serving with Dick Durbin | |
Preceded by | Roland Burris |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 10th district | |
In office January 3, 2001 – November 29, 2010 | |
Preceded by | John Porter |
Succeeded by | Robert Dold |
Personal details | |
Born | Mark Steven Kirk September 15, 1959 Champaign, Illinois |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Kimberly Vertolli (2001–2009; divorced)[1] |
Residence | Highland Park, Illinois[2] |
Alma mater | Cornell University (B.A.) London School of Economics Georgetown University Law Center (J.D.) |
Occupation | Attorney, Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve |
Website | Official website |
Military service | |
Branch/service | ![]() |
Years of service | 1989–present |
Rank | ![]() |
Unit | U.S. Navy Reserve |
Mark Steven Kirk (born September 15, 1959) is the junior United States Senator from Illinois and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, Kirk was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Illinois's 10th congressional district.
Born in Champaign, Illinois, he graduated from Cornell University, London School of Economics, and Georgetown University Law Center. He practiced law throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He joined the United States Navy Reserve in 1989 and was recalled to active duty for the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. He participated in Operation Northern Watch in Iraq the following year. He remains a member of the Navy Reserve, now holding the rank of Commander.
Kirk was elected to the House in 2000. During his fifth term in November 2010 he won a special election to finish the final months of former Senator Barack Obama's term and he began a six-year Senate term in January 2011.
On January 23, 2012, Kirk underwent surgery following a stroke.[4]
Early life and education
Mark Kirk was born in Champaign, Illinois, the son of Judith Ann (née Brady) and Francis Gabriel "Frank" Kirk.[5][6][7] After graduating from New Trier East High School in 1977 he attended Cornell University, where he graduated cum laude with a B.A. in History.[8] Kirk later obtained a masters degree from the London School of Economics and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Georgetown University Law Center.[9][10]
Personal life
In February 1998, Kirk met his future wife, Kimberly Vertolli, a Naval Intelligence Officer, by chance, while the two were on duty together at the Pentagon.[11] “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,” Vertolli said, according to Capitol File magazine.[12][13] The two married in August 2001, when Kirk was 41.[14] After eight 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]
However, in 2010, Chicago Magazine interviewed Vertolli, who said that despite their friendship, she would not support her ex-husband for Senate. She said that a female staffer named Dodie McCracken asserts a "Svengali-like" influence over Kirk, and that she refused to have McCracken at their 2001 wedding, because "Mark could either stay married to me, or she could find another place. But there wasn’t enough room for the two of us to stay in Mark’s life." She then said that despite the 2001 snub, McCracken never distanced herself from Kirk and worked on his 2010 Senate campaign in addition to her earlier work as a staffer. Asked by the interviewer, "Is there any kind of insinuation that there’s any kind of romance going on between them?" Vertolli responded, "I will not characterize their relationship." Asked, "was it political differences that contributed to you and Mark divorcing?" she responded, "I think that if Dodie McCracken had not continued to be in our lives, we probably would still be married."[16] In the same interview, Vertolli denied persistent rumors that Kirk is gay.[16]
Kirk was earlier engaged to Virginia Hurt Johnson, whom he met while both were practicing law in Washington, DC, in 1994.[17] Johnson became the Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 13th Congressional District of North Carolina in 2004. She was Counsel to the House Armed Services Committee and was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for House Legislative Affairs under Secretaries Rumsfeld and Gates.[17]
In January 2012, Senator Kirk suffered a stroke and underwent surgery.[4]
Teaching career
While Kirk was an undergraduate student at Cornell University he held a work study job supervising a play group at the Forest Home Chapel nursery school. After getting his masters degree, Kirk taught for one year at a private school in London.[18][19] He later stated in speeches and interviews that he had been a nursery and middle school teacher. For example, Kirk claimed in a speech to the Illinois Education Association, "As a former nursery school and middle school teacher, I know some of what it takes to bring order to class." However, a member of the Forest Home Chapel said, "He was never, ever considered a teacher [at the nursery school]."[18]
In discussing problems in the educational system early in his congressional career, Kirk addressed the brevity of his teaching career: “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.”[18][20]
Military service
Kirk was commissioned as an intelligence officer in the United States Navy Reserve in 1989.[10]
In 1999 Kirk was recalled to active duty in Operation Allied Force for the bombing of Yugoslavia. He served from to April 10 to June 6, 1999 as the intelligence officer of VAQ-209.[21] VAQ-209 was combined with three other EA-6B squadrons to form an ad hoc unit called Electronic Attack Wing Aviano, Italy. VAQ-140 had tactical command of the combined unit.[22] In May, 2000, the National Military Intelligence Association bestowed the organization's Vice Admiral Rufus L. Taylor Award to Intelligence Division Electronic Attack Wing Aviano, Italy.[23]
In March and April, 2000 Kirk trained with an EC-130 squadron based in Turkey. Kirk took a flight over Iraq as part of Operation Northern Watch, which enforced a no fly zone over the northern section of Iraq.[24]
Kirk has served three, two-week reserve deployments in Afghanistan, with the latest concluding in September 2011.[25]
Awards
During his military career, Kirk has been awarded the following medals: the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, as well as the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, the Navy Unit Commendation, and the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation. He continues his service in the Navy Reserve holding the rank of Commander.[26]
Kirk corrected claims he had made about being awarded "Navy Intelligence Officer of the Year" after it was brought to the media's attention by his Democratic opponent, Alexi Giannoulias.[27] In a 2002 House committee hearing recorded by C-Span, Kirk said, "I was the Navy's Intelligence Officer of the Year," an achievement he said gave him special qualifications to discuss national security spending.[26] However, in May 2010, the Washington Post reported that Kirk's claim to having been named the Navy's “Intelligence Officer of the Year” was erroneous.[28] The National Military Intelligence Association gave the Vice Admiral Rufus L. Taylor Award to the entire Intelligence Division Electronic Attack Wing at Aviano.[26] Kirk was the lead intelligence officer for VAQ-209, one of the four squadrons assigned to the Electronic Attack Wing. VAQ-140 had tactical command.[22] Kirk later apologized for this and other errors, including claims of having been fired upon during an aerial reconnaissance mission in Iraq, about which there is no official record, and of having participated in Operation Desert Storm when in fact he did not.[29]
On June 7, 2010, Medal of Honor recipient and advocate of Veteran's benefits, Allen Lynch, deemed Mark Kirk's apologies adequate, and further commented: “To me, in my opinion, it's just a bunch of nit picking. Plus, he's done a christ ton for veterans. So I think this is being blown way out of proportion".[30]
Service under fire
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, admitting that he was never fired on as he flew over Iraq or Kosovo.[31] “I simply misremembered [sic] it wrong,” he told The Chicago Sun-Times, referring to his military record.[32]
Military politicking
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—violation of military policy by participating in political activities while on active duty, per 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.[33] According to the Pentagon, Kirk was required to sign a statement acknowledging he knew the rules and wouldn't break them again.[34]
Early political career
Kirk worked on the staff of John Porter, the former holder of Illinois’s 10th congressional district. From 1991 to 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 to 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.[10]
U.S. House of Representatives
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/Mark_Steven_Kirk%2C_official_photo_portrait_color.jpg/200px-Mark_Steven_Kirk%2C_official_photo_portrait_color.jpg)
Elections
Kirk was originally elected in 2000 with 51%. He won re-election with comfortable margins in 2002 and 2004. He defeated Dan Seals by a five point margin in 2006, and defeated him again by the same exact margin in a rematch in 2008.
Tenure
Kirk was a member of the House Iran Working Group, the founder and co-chair of the House U.S.-China Working Group,[35] the co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues,[10] the co-chair of the Albanian Issues Caucus in ex Yugoslavia,[36] and a member of the GOP Tuesday Group.[37] During his House tenure, he was a member of the House Appropriations Committee.[38]
During his tenure in the House, Kirk voted for the Waxman-Markey "Cap-and-Trade" bill.[39][40]
Committee assignments
Source: Appropriations subcommittees
Immigration
Kirk attracted controversy by stating that he was not opposed if the immigration process in the United States discriminates against Arab males from certain countries. He stated, "I’m OK with discrimination against young Arab males from terrorist-producing states. I’m OK with that."[41]
U.S. Senate
2010 election
On July 20, 2009, Kirk announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate election for the seat held by Roland Burris, which had been held by Barack Obama before his election as president. On February 2, 2010, Kirk won the Republican primary with 56.6 percent of the vote; no other candidate had as much as 20 percent.[42] He ran against Democratic nominee Alexi Giannoulias, Green Party nominee LeAlan Jones, and Libertarian nominee Mike Labno. During the Illinois U.S. Senate election campaign in 2010, Kirk and Giannoulias were in a hotly contested debate. Kirk (R) defeated Giannoulias in the election for the full 6-year term, getting 48% to Giannoulias's 46%. Kirk changed his position on Cap and Trade legislation during the campaign saying he voted for it "because it was in the narrow interests of my Congressional district," but that as a representative of the entire state of Illinois, "I will vote No on that bill.”[43]
Tenure
On December 18, 2010, Kirk voted in favor of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010.[44] He was one of only two Republicans to oppose legislation to detain American citizens indefinitely.[45] Kirk sits at the Senate's coveted candy desk.[46]
Caucus memberships
- Albanian Issue Caucus (Co-Chair)
- Congressional Diabetes Caucus (Vice-Chair)
- International Conservation Caucus
Committee Assignments
- Committee on Appropriations
- Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government
- Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (Ranking Member)
- Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
- Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
- Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
- Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
- Special Committee on Aging
Electoral history
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, a write-in received 1 vote.
|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Mark Kirk | 1,749,941 | 48.4 | |
Democratic | Alexi Giannoulias | 1,667,527 | 46.1 | |
Green | LeAlan Jones | 115,561 | 3.2 | |
Libertarian | Michael Labno | 85,492 | 2.4 | |
Total votes | 3,618,521 | 100 | ||
Republican gain from Democratic |
References
- ^ Rep. Mark Kirk, wife divorcing. WLS-TV. June 6, 2009.
- ^ "About Mark". U.S. House of Representatives. Archived from the original on July 9, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
- ^ "Barack Obama, candidate for President, is 'UCC'". United Church of Christ. February 9, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2009.
- ^ a b Skiba, Katherine (January 23, 2012). "Sen. Mark Kirk undergoes surgery after suffering stroke". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ "Congressman Mark Kirk's father dies of pulmonary fibrosis". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
- ^ "President Bush Promotes Kirk to Navy Commander | Congressman Mark Kirk – 10th District, Illinois". Kirk.house.gov. 2005-05-03. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
- ^ "Mark Kirk ancestry". rootsweb.ancestry.com. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
- ^ Gitlin, Ben. "Mark Kirk '81 Campaigns For Illinois Senate Seat After Winning Primary | The Cornell Daily Sun". Cornellsun.com. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
- ^ "Profile: Mark Kirk trying to expand base well beyond North Shore – Page 2 – Chicago Tribune". Articles.chicagotribune.com. 2010-01-10. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
- ^ a b c d "CBS 2 Voter Guide: Mark Kirk |date-January 1, 2010". CBS2Chicago.com. Retrieved June 22, 2010. [dead link]
- ^ Sweet, Lynn (2006-05-05). "Kirk: Lawmakers' wife splits for D.C. – Lynn Sweet". Blogs.suntimes.com. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
- ^ Capitol File Magazine.
- ^ "In the News – Full Article, In the News, News and Events, School of Law, Northwestern University". Law.northwestern.edu. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
- ^ "Microsoft Word - Kimberly Vertolli-Kirk Bio.doc" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-07-28.
- ^ "Rep. Mark Kirk's Divorce To Be Finalized". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
- ^ a b Felsenthal, Carol. Mark Kirk’s Ex-wife: ‘Svengali Figure’ Influencing Candidate, Chicago Magazine, August 4, 2010. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
- ^ a b Virginia Johnson for Congress
- ^ a b c Zeleny, Jeff (June 18, 2010). "School Officials Say Candidate Overstated His Role". New York Times. Retrieved June 21, 2010. Cite error: The named reference "New York Times" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Sweet, Lynn (June 18, 2010). "Kirk exaggerates teaching; Duncan helps Giannouliase". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
- ^ "Mark Kirk's Teaching Experience 'Overstated,' Says School Representative". Huffington Post. June 18, 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-20.
- ^ Gill, Ellen Beth (May 29, 2010). "Let's Take A Look At Kirk's Award With A Former Navy Officer". Deerfield, IL. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Sweet, Lynn (June 3, 2010). "More Mark Kirk military embellishments surface, including in Senate ad, on House floor". Chicago, IL: Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
- ^ "Kirk Delivers Address Following Navy Reserve Assignment in Afghanistan". Kirk.senate.gov. September 6, 2011. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
- ^ a b c Smith, R. Jeffrey (May 29, 2010). "Illinois Senate candidate admits claim about military award was inaccurate". Washington, DC: Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
- ^ Pearson, Rick (June 1, 2010). "U.S. Navy alerted Kirk to questions about his military award". Chicago, IL: Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
- ^ Smith, R. Jeffrey (2010-05-30). "Illinois Republican Senate candidate admits to error on Navy award". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
- ^ Pearson, Rick (June 3, 2010). "Kirk apologizes, acknowledges more errors in military resume". Chicago, IL: Chicago Tribune. Retrieved Nov 5, 2010.
- ^ "Medal of Honor Allen Lynch on Mark Kirk's Military Record".
- ^ "Kirk Caught Misstating His Military Record Again". Politicalwire.com. 2010-06-03. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
- ^ Pallasch, Abdon (June 4, 2010). "Kirk says he 'misremembered' military record". Chicago, IL: Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
- ^ [2][dead link]
- ^ "Kirk on defensive against Pentagon over politics". Associated Press. June 16, 2010. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
- ^ "The Bipartisan U.S.-China Working Group | Congressman Mark Kirk – 10th District, Illinois". Kirk.house.gov. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
- ^ House Committees, kirk.house.gov
- ^ "About Us". Tgpac.com. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
- ^ "Committee Members". Appropriations.house.gov. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
- ^ Pareene, Alex (2011-02-02) Mark Kirk doesn't support regulating carbon anymore, because Al Gore got divorced, Salon.com
- ^ Weigel, David (2011-02-02) The EPA Must Die for Al Gore's Sins, Slate.com
- ^ Chicago Sun-Times: Kirk 'OK' With Visa Bias Against Some Arab Men. CAIR-Chicago (2005-11-06). Retrieved on 2011-05-11.
- ^ By ALEXANDER BURNS. "Morning Score: Land of Lincoln – Alexander Burns". Politico.Com. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
{{cite web}}
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ignored (help) - ^ Sargent, Greg (September 15, 2009). "GOP Rep Gets Loudly Booed By Right, Performs Creative Flip-Flop". Washington, DC: Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
- ^ "Senate Vote 281 – Repeals 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'". The New York Times.
- ^ McAuliff, Michael; Bendery, Jennifer (November 29, 2011). "Senate Votes To Let Military Detain Americans Indefinitely, White House Threatens Veto". Huffington Post. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
- ^ Toeplitz, Shira (February 13, 2011). "Mark Kirk: Senate candy man". Politico.
- ^ "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
- ^ "Live election results". Chicago Tribune. November 3, 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- U.S. Senator Mark Kirk official U.S. Senate site
- Kirk for Senate official campaign site
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Profile from SourceWatch
- Mark Kirk's file at PolitiFact.com
- 1959 births
- Alumni of the London School of Economics
- Cornell University alumni
- Georgetown University Law Center alumni
- Illinois Republicans
- Living people
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois
- New Trier High School alumni
- Republican Party United States Senators
- United Church of Christ members
- United States congressional aides
- United States Navy officers
- United States Senators from Illinois