Mark Kirk represents the 10th Congressional District of Illinois located in the suburbs north of Chicago. Now in his fifth term, Congressman Kirk is a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

 

In Congress, Congressman Kirk works to advance a suburban agenda that is pro-defense, pro-personal responsibility, pro-environment, and pro-science. He wrote a number of provisions which became law, including funding for commuter rail, improving veteran’s health care, ensuring military voting, and boosting aviation security.

 

Mark Kirk’s father was from Sullivan and his mother from Park Ridge. Kirk was born in Champaign and grew up in Chatham, Downers Grove and Kenilworth. Representative Kirk graduated from New Trier High School (Winnetka) and attended Blackburn College (Carlinville) and the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico before earning a B.A. from Cornell. He holds a Masters Degree from the London School of Economics and a law degree from Georgetown.

 

Congressman Kirk began his career on the staff of his predecessor, Congressman John Porter. He later served in the World Bank, the State Department, the law firm of Baker & McKenzie, and the U.S. House International Relations Committee.

 

Kirk, who holds the rank of Commander, is a Naval Reserve intelligence officer and has served during conflicts with Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti, and Bosnia. He recently became the first member of Congress to serve in an imminent danger zone since 1942 when he deployed as a reservist to Afghanistan in December, 2008. He completed his second deployment to Afghanistan in January. 

 

Kirk lives in Highland Park.