Mark Kirk
| Mark Kirk | ||
 | ||
| U.S. Senate, Illinois | ||
| Incumbent | ||
| In office | ||
| January 3, 2011-Present | ||
| Term ends | ||
| January 3, 2017 | ||
| Years in position | 2 | |
| Party | Republican | |
| Compensation | ||
| Base salary | $174,000 | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| First elected | 2010 | |
| Next election | 2016 | |
| Term limits | N/A | |
| Prior offices | ||
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| 2001-2010 | ||
| Education | ||
| High school | New Trier East High School (1977) | |
| Bachelor's | Cornell University | |
| Master's | London School of Economics | |
| J.D. | Georgetown University Law Center | |
| Military service | ||
| Service/branch | United States Navy | |
| Years of service | 1989-Present | |
| Personal | ||
| Birthday | September 15, 1959 | |
| Place of birth | Champaign, Illinois | |
| Profession | Attorney, Commander in U.S. Navy Reserve | |
| Religion | United Church of Christ [1] | |
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
| Campaign website | ||
Contents |
Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Kirk is a "centrist Republican".[3]
Biography
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 U.S 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 beginning in 2011.[2]
Career
- 1989-Present: United States Navy, Commander
- 2001-2010: U.S. House of Representatives
- 2010-Present: U.S. Senate
Committee assignments
U.S. Senate
2011-2012
- United States Senate Committee on Appropriations[4]
- 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
- United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs[2]
- Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development
- Subcommittee on Security and International Trade and Finance
- Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment
- United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions [2]
- Subcommittee on Children and Families
- Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety
- United States Senate Special Committee on Aging [2]
Issues
Political Positions
Percentage voting with party
The website Open Congress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus. According to the website, Mark Kirk has voted with the Republican Party 89 of the time, which ranked 29 among the 47 Senate Republican members as of November 2011.[5]
Presidential preference
2012
Mark Kirk endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. [6]
Elections
2010
On November 2, 2010, Kirk won election to the United States Senate. He defeated Alexander "Alexi" Giannoulias (D), LeAlan M. Jones (G), Mike Labno (L), Robert L. "Bob" Zadek (I), Will Boyd (I), Corey Dabney (I), Susanne Atanus (I), Shon-Tiyon "Santiago" Horton (I), Avner Nager (I), Stan Jagla (I), Darren Raichart (I), and Lowell M. Seida (I) in the general election.[7]
| U.S. Senate, Illinois General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Mark Steve Kirk |
48% | 1,778,698 | |
| Democratic | Alexander "Alexi" Giannoulias | 46.4% | 1,719,478 | |
| Green | LeAlan M. Jones | 3.2% | 117,914 | |
| Libertarian | Mike Labno | 2.4% | 87,247 | |
| Independent | Robert L. "Bob" Zadek | 0% | 561 | |
| Independent | Will Boyd | 0% | 468 | |
| Independent | Corey Dabney | 0% | 33 | |
| Independent | Susanne Atanus | 0% | 19 | |
| Independent | Shon-Tiyon "Santiago" Horton | 0% | 16 | |
| Independent | Avner Nager | 0% | 15 | |
| Independent | Stan Jagla | 0% | 12 | |
| Independent | Darren Raichart | 0% | 9 | |
| Independent | Lowell M. Seida | 0% | 3 | |
| Total Votes | 3,704,473 | |||
Campaign donors
2010
Kirk won election to the U.S. Senate in 2010. During that election cycle, Kirk's campaign committee raised a total of $14,305,287 and spent $14,079,356 .[8]
| U.S. Senate, Illinois, 2010 - Mark Kirk Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Total Raised | $14,305,287 |
| Total Spent | $14,079,356 |
| Total Raised by General Election Opponent | $9,923,570 |
| Total Spent by General Election Opponent | $9,902,006 |
| Top contributors to Mark Kirk's campaign committee | |
| Kirkland & Ellis | $122,268 |
| Citadel Investment Group | $112,200 |
| Madison Dearborn Partners | $93,600 |
| Elliott Management | $90,750 |
| NorPAC | $61,914 |
| Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee | |
| Securities & Investment | $1,586,247 |
| Retired | $1,192,205 |
| Lawyers/Law Firms | $751,732 |
| Pro-Israel | $628,810 |
| Health Professionals | $592,863 |
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Mark + Kirk + Illinois + Senate
- All stories may not be relevant to this official due to the nature of the search engine.
Mark Kirk News Feed
- Letter: Sen. Mark Kirk should support Gina McCarthy to head EPA - Rockford Register Star
- Don't bash Sen. Kirk on immigration - Chicago Tribune
- Critics: Sen. Mark Kirk has 'racial blind spot' - ABC7Chicago.com
- Some Illinois lawmakers angry with US Sen. Kirk over immigration - WBEZ
- Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk votes against immigration reform - ChicagoNow (blog)
- Illinois Senator Kirk partakes in letter to FDA - Examiner.com
- Illinois Senators Target Gangster Disciples Gang - NBC Chicago (blog)
- Both Illinois senators supporting Penny Pritzker as commerce secretary - ABC7Chicago.com
- Images: Senator Mark Kirk at work in DC following his stroke. - Chicago Daily Herald
- Kirk, Rush to meet about senator's controversial gang proposal - Chicago Tribune (blog)
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Personal
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.[9]After 8 years of marriage, the two separated, finalizing their divorce in the summer of 2009.[10] Reports have noted that the divorce was an amicable one and the two remain close friends.[11] Mark currently resides in Highland Park, Illinois.[2]
External Links
- Social media:
- Biographies:
- Political profiles:
- Financial:
- Interest group ratings:
- Issue positions:
- Public statements:
- Voting record:
- Works by or about:
- Media appearances:
- Media coverage:
References
- ↑ United Church of Christ News "Barack Obama, candidate for President, is UCC" Accessed October 14, 2011
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Mark Kirk--Senator for Illinois "About Mark" Accessed October 14, 2011
- ↑ Gov Track "Mark Kirk," Accessed March 3, 2012
- ↑ Mark Kirk--Senator for Illinois "Committee Assignments" Accessed October 14, 2011
- ↑ Open Congress "Voting With Party"
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Kirk to throw support to Romney," December 19, 2011
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010"
- ↑ Open Secrets "Mark Kirk 2010 Election Cycle," Accessed November 7, 2011
- ↑ Chicago Sun Times "Kirk: Lawmakers' wife splits for D.C." Accessed October 14, 2011
- ↑ abc7chicago "Rep. Mark Kirk, wife divorcing" Accessed October 14, 2011
- ↑ Huffington Post:Chicago "Rep. Mark Kirk's Divorce To Be Finalized" Accessed October 14, 2011
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Roland Burris |
U.S. Senate-Illinois 2010–present |
Succeeded by - |
