WBEZ | Mark Kirk

Kirk holds first public appearance since stroke

Fri, 03 May 2013 17:14:00 -0500

In his first public appearance since suffering from a stroke last year, Illinois U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R) attested to the progress he has made through rehabilitation, and chimed in on a number of political issues that have been simmering in Washington and Chicago.

The junior Senator sat in a wheelchair as he spoke with media outlets at the LEARN Public Charter School near North Chicago in Lake County on Friday. Next to him were Illinois U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D) and Illinois Congressman Brad Schneider (D-10th).

“My standard walk for rehab was from my house to the Fort Sheridan (water) tower, which is about a block, and it always took 18 minutes,” Kirk said on Friday, “and yesterday, it took eight (minutes). So it’s much, much faster.” The stroke impaired movements particularly on the left side of Kirk’s body, and kept him off Capitol Hill for a year.

“Part of my mission is to tell everybody in Illinois, ‘If you have a mom or a dad who goes through a stroke, that if they get depressed one day to call me and I’ll get them up and turn them around,’” he said.

Kirk also chimed in on the immigration overhaul that Durbin and others in the so-called “Gang of Eight” senators have introduced in Washington. He said he has spoken to one of the Republican leaders on that bill, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) about introducing an amendment to award citizenship to military veterans who have earned Combat Infantry or Combat Action badges.

“My feeling is if you have fought with us, you are one of us,” said Kirk. “That is something that I’ll seek to add to the bill.”

He also said that he is withholding judgment on President Barack Obama’s nomination of Chicago business executive Penny Pritzker to the Secretary of Commerce cabinet position until he has had a chance to speak with her. Kirk said he wants to hear about Pritzker’s “pro-business” agenda.

Odette Yousef is WBEZ’s North Side Bureau reporter. Follow her @oyousef.

Illinois Senators remind American not to forget about ORD expansion

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 16:49:00 -0600

Illinois senators don’t want the pending merger between American Airlines and US Airways to affect plans to expand O’Hare International Airport.

Last night, Senators Dick Durbin (D) and Mark Kirk (R) sent American Airlines a letter saying they hope the merger won’t derail the O’Hare expansion plan.

The billion dollar O’Hare Modernization Program hinges on agreement United and American Airlines. The city is scheduled to sit back down with the two carriers in March to work on the next phase of the decade-long project.

In 2011, Transportation Sec. Ray LaHood helped broker a deal between the federal government, the city and the airlines.

In the letter, the Senators reminded the airline the O’Hare project "will create 195,000 more jobs and generate $18 billion in annual economic activity," adding the merger faces “regulatory scrutiny” by legislators before being approved.

Speaking today from Chicago, Sen. Durbin said the project was crucial.

"We really believe that key to economic progress in the Chicago reason is new runways and the modernization of O'Hare," Durbin said. "I'd like a committment from the new American Airlines that they are going to with us in that effort."

Staff from Senator Durbin’s office said they had not yet received a response from American.

"We appreciate the concerns expressed in the letter by Senators Durbin and Kirk," American spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagan said, adding, "We have frankly been a little bit busy of late."

Fagan reiterated what the airline said yesterday during its merger announcement, that Chicago remains an important hub, but declined further comment.

Here's the full letter sent yesterday:

Durbin Kirk Letter to AA and US Airways - Merger - 2.14.13 by

Sen. Kirk talks guns, health - and the presidential fist bump

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 16:46:00 -0600

A day after President Barack Obama urged lawmakers to bring new gun control legislation up for a vote in Congress, Illinois U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk says he’s cautiously optimistic about gun control measures he’s pushing in the Senate.

“I’m trying to be very Midwestern about this – you know, practical changes that can actually change laws, that can actually save lives,” Kirk said in an interview with WBEZ Wednesday.

Tuesday night’s State of the Union was Kirk’s first since returning to work last month, after having suffered a massive stroke that kept him off Capitol Hill for nearly a year. He’s now one of a handful of senators negotiating new gun control legislation, following the mass shooting at Newtown, Conn. in December.

For now, Kirk said the focus is on expanding background checks for would-be gun owners, rather than an all-out ban on military-style firearms that many gun rights advocates oppose.

“I will tell you the assault weapon ban is the harder lift,” Kirk said, adding later: “And so what I think – the one that is most likely is background checks that we could probably get through the Congress this time.”

The senator also met Wednesday with the parents of Hadiya Pendleton, the 15-year-old Chicago girl whose shooting death has thrust Chicago gun violence into the national spotlight. Pendleton’s parents were guests of First Lady Michelle Obama during Tuesday’s speech, and the president invoked her murder to push for tougher gun control laws.

On Wednesday, Kirk said he received permission from Pendleton’s parents to name an anti-gun trafficking bill after their daughter, prompting Kirk to dub Hadiya Pendleton “our silver-lining child.”

At the same time, Kirk said he does not want to “over-promise” on what might be included in a final gun control package, given fierce opposition from some fellow Republicans, and a tough fight in the GOP-led House of Representatives.

On a lighter note, Kirk also reflected on the “exploding fist bump” he shared with Obama as he entered House chamber, minutes before giving the State of the Union. (See video below.)

That goodwill hand gesture – in which both parties bump their closed fists together, then splay their fingers open to “blow it up” – has since spawned a popular internet meme, in which the president seems to be mouthing the word “boom” upon impact.

“I thought to myself, ‘Here I got a chance to do the famous Obama fist-bump, with the guy who has … made it ubiquitous across the country,’” Kirk told WBEZ.

“And I was very pleased when some press outlets said, ‘Best Fist-Bump Ever,’” Kirk said, adding, “These are small things that add up to the bipartisan cooperation necessary to keep this place running.”

The fist bump (via WashingtonPost.com)

Senators seek deal on gun-sale background checks

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 09:11:00 -0600

WASHINGTON — A cornerstone of President Barack Obama's drive to check gun violence is gathering bipartisan steam as four senators, including two of the National Rifle Association's congressional champions, privately seek compromise on requiring far more firearms purchasers to undergo background checks.

The talks are being held even as Obama's call to ban assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, the two other major pillars of his plan, are hitting rough waters on Capitol Hill. An agreement among the four senators to expand background checks would add significant impetus to that high-profile proposal by getting the endorsement of a group that ranges from one of the Senate's most liberal Democrats to one of its most conservative Republicans.

"We'll get something, I hope. I'm praying for it," said Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., one of the participants.

Manchin, a moderate Democrat, is an NRA member who aired a 2010 campaign ad in which he literally shot a hole through Democratic environmental legislation that he pledged to oppose.

Also involved is Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., another NRA member with a strong conservative record but occasional maverick impulses; No. 3 Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer of New York, a liberal; and moderate GOP Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois.

Background checks are required only for sales by the nation's 55,000 federally licensed gun dealers, but not for private purchases like those at gun shows, online or in person. There are few indisputable, up-to-date statistics on how many guns change hands without background checks, but a respected study using 1990s data estimated that 30 percent to 40 percent of gun transactions fit into that category.

The senators' talks have included discussions about how to encourage states to make more mental health data available to the federal system for checking gun buyers' records, according to people who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to describe the private negotiations. They are also considering potential exemptions to expanded background check requirements, including transactions involving relatives or people with licenses to carry concealed weapons

People involved in the talks would share little about their substance. In one of the few public remarks about the talks by participants, Schumer said last week that the talks have been productive and said the package they were seeking "will not limit your ability to borrow your Uncle Willie's hunting rifle or share a gun with your friend at a shooting range."

Congress has been focusing on guns since the December massacre of 20 first-graders and six adults at a school in Newtown, Conn. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., wants his panel to approve gun control legislation in the next few weeks and has voiced strong support for universal background checks for firearms purchases.

While an expansion of background checks is expected to be a key part of any gun control bill Leahy produces, a version of that provision with bipartisan support could give the entire package a boost.

It is likely that any gun-control bill will need 60 votes to pass the 100-member Senate. Democrats have 55 votes, including two Democratic-leaning independents.

Leaders of the GOP-run House are planning to see what, if anything, the Senate passes before moving on gun legislation. Strategists believe that a measure that passes the Senate with clear bipartisan support could pressure the House to act.

The political impact that the four senators could have by reaching agreement stems largely from who they are.

If Coburn embraces an agreement, that could help win over other conservative Republicans at a time when the GOP is responding to its White House and congressional election losses of last November by trying to broaden its national appeal.

In an Associated Press-GfK Poll last month, requiring more background checks got overwhelming public support, compared to just over half who backed bans on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.

"The whole goal is to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill and criminals," Coburn said in a brief interview.

Manchin's support could make it easier to win backing from other Democratic senators from GOP-leaning states, many of whom face re-election next year and who have been leery of embracing Obama's proposals.

"If the language is meaningful, it would be obviously a huge step," said Josh Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, which represents child welfare, religious and other groups favoring gun curbs. "To have someone like Coburn, who's voted consistently with the gun lobby, to come out and endorse a meaningful background check would be very helpful."

Schumer and Kirk each have "F'' scores from the NRA for their voting records in Congress, while Coburn and Manchin have "A'' ratings.

Though widened background checks is given the strongest chance for enactment of Obama's major proposals, it is opposed by the NRA and many congressional Republicans, who consider it intrusive and unworkable for a system they say already has flaws.

"My problem with background checks is you're never going to get criminals to go through background checks," Wayne LaPierre, NRA executive vice president, told the Senate Judiciary Committee at its gun control hearing last week.

"That's the way reductions in liberty occur, when you start saying people have to sign up for something and they have a database where they know exactly who's who," Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said in an interview.

Gun control supporters note that federal laws specifically forbid the national background check system from being used as a registry of gun owners. Much of the information the system collects must be destroyed within a day.

NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam declined to comment on the senators' discussions.

According to Justice Department estimates, the federal and state governments ran 108 million background checks of firearms sales between 1994 when the requirement became law and 2009. Of those, 1.9 million — almost 2 percent — were denied, usually because would-be purchasers had criminal records.

People legally judged to be "mentally defective" are among those blocked by federal law from firearms purchases. States are supposed to make mental health records available to the federal background check system and receive more generous Justice Department grants if they do, but many provide little or no such data because of privacy concerns or antiquated record-keeping systems.

People following the discussions say the talks have touched on:

—The types of family relatives who would be allowed to give guns to each other without a background check.

—Possibly exempting sales in remote areas.

—Whether to help some veterans who sought treatment for traumatic stress disorder — now often barred from getting firearms — become eligible to do so.

Nearly 1 year after stroke, Kirk returns to Senate

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 13:59:00 -0600

WASHINGTON — Nearly a year after suffering a debilitating stroke, Sen. Mark Kirk walked the 45 steps up the Capitol on Thursday and reclaimed his seat in the U.S. Senate on the first day of the 113th Congress.

The Illinois Republican was greeted at the foot of the Capitol steps by an open-armed Vice President Joe Biden. With Biden and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., at his side, and clutching a four-prong cane, Kirk climbed the steps to the Capitol's entrance to rousing applause from Senate colleagues, the Illinois congressional delegation and Capitol staff.

Kirk, 53, waved and smiled, pausing several times to greet well-wishers. "Feels great," he said, walking through the door.

Moments earlier, Kirk's return brought most of the Senate, many members of the House where Kirk once served and dozens of congressional aides to the steps of the Capitol. On a frigid, but clear and sunny day, they cheered as Kirk emerged from a sedan to find Biden awaiting him.

"Welcome back man!" Biden said.

Kirk smiled broadly, hugging the vice president.

"During the debate I was rooting for you," Kirk joked.

With Biden, Manchin — Kirk's closest friend in the Senate — and his Illinois colleague, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin nearby, Kirk mixed grimaces of concentration with smiles as he walked up the steps. "Go, Mark go," ''yeah Mark!" and "you're almost there!" fellow members of Congress cheered. Biden kept a steadying hand on Kirk as he climbed and Manchin lent a supporting arm around his waist. Kirk's ascent, with several pauses, took about 20 minutes.

As they neared the Senate, Biden told Kirk he could take all the time he wanted.

"I made the same walk," Biden said. He was referring to his own recuperation from brain aneurysms in 1988 and return to the Senate.

Walking past reporters, Kirk settled into a desk near the back of the chamber. One by one, fellow senators came to wish him well and Kirk chatted with the senator seated next to him, Republican John Hoeven of North Dakota. In a prayer that began Thursday's Senate session — the first of the new Congress — Senate Chaplain Barry Black expressed gratitude for Kirk's return.

Kirk's return followed a year of an intensive, experimental rehabilitation regimen that is often compared to military boot camp because of its intensity. Throughout the process, he updated constituents with video messages about his rehab and his official work. From Chicago, he held video conferences with his staff and worked to keep up to date on Senate business with an eye toward a return this year.

"I think I am more glad that he's back than he is," Manchin joked.

Durbin said he was thrilled to have Kirk back. "Fantastic," he said.

Kirk was all smiles, too.

"Good to see you," he said to a group of reporters waiting for him at the top of the Capitol steps.

Kirk keeps his seats on the Senate appropriations, banking and health-education-labor committees as well as the Special Committee on Aging. His term expires at the end of 2016.

Sen. Kirk gears up for return to Washington

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 10:38:00 -0600

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. — Sen. Mark Kirk says recovering from a major stroke a year ago is the hardest thing he's ever done.

The Illinois Republican tells the (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald that he has a renewed sense of purpose and become more religious since the stroke in January 2012.

Kirk plans to return to the U.S. Senate on Thursday and climb the 45 steps of the Capitol. Kirk says that's something he visualized throughout his months of physical therapy.

The stroke limited movement on the left side of Kirk's body and affected his speech. He now speaks more slowly and deliberately and is expected to have a scaled-back schedule. He won't keep a packed travel schedule.

Kirk uses a four-pronged cane and may also use wheelchair.

Sen. Kirk's first office visit since stroke

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 16:11:00 -0600

WASHINGTON — Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk has briefly returned to his Senate office for the first time since suffering a stroke last January.

His office says the Illinois Republican spent about a half-hour meeting with aides on Thursday in advance of his anticipated return to work when the new Congress convenes on Jan. 3.

The 53-year-old lawmaker's stroke limited movement on the left side of his body and affected his speech. He underwent emergency surgery and has since had treatment including vigorous experimental therapy with longer workouts than usual for stroke victims.

Last month, Kirk made his first public appearance since the stroke, climbing 37 floors inside Chicago's Willis Tower as part of a charity event.

U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk to return to Congress in January

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 09:29:00 -0600

U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk is setting his priorities for his return to Washington.

Kirk hasn't been back to the U.S. Senate since suffering a stroke earlier this year, but WLS TV reports he's planning to return in January.

Kirk tells WLS that he will make a ban on dumping sewage in the Great Lakes his priority for this Congress.

The 53-year-old Republican discussed his plans when he stopped at a polling place in the Chicago suburb of Highwood to cast his ballot Tuesday. He used a cane as he walked to the polls and greeted well-wishers.

Kirk's says he's feeling good after he climbed 37 floors of the Willis Tower on Sunday for a Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago fundraiser. He admits he took a long nap after the event.

Foster glides past Biggert after race that looked tight

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Defying opinion polls that depicted a neck-and-neck contest, Democrat Bill Foster easily defeated Republican U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert in the 11th Congressional District on Tuesday. With nearly all precincts reporting, Foster had almost 58 percent of the vote; Biggert had 42 percent.

In his victory speech, Foster expressed misgivings about the race’s negative television advertising, a months-long barrage funded by campaign contributions and outside spending totaling roughly $14 million. “I sense that both Congresswoman Biggert and myself were forced into an increasingly ugly world of politics today — a world that we were both deeply uncomfortable with,” he said.

Biggert, a seven-term House member, appeared to blame her loss on congressional redistricting controlled by Illinois Democrats. “This race wasn’t supposed to happen,” she told supporters in her concession speech. “They thought that I would shy away from a tough race in a district tailor-made for my opponent, and they were wrong.”

Other factors contributing to Biggert’s defeat included strong Democratic get-out-the-vote efforts and growing Latino numbers in Chicago’s suburbs. In the 11th District — which includes parts of Aurora, Naperville, Bolingbrook and Joliet — Hispanics constitute 22 percent of the population. Foster rallied them by pointing to Biggert’s vote against the DREAM Act, a stalled bill that would have provided many young undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship.

Despite a bitter tone through much of the race, the candidates claimed to be moderate and eager to work across party lines. And they did not stand far apart on some hot-button issues. Both, for example, warmed up to legal recognition of same-sex marriage and avoided weighing in on whether Joliet should pursue a privately run detention center that would hold immigrants awaiting deportation.

On other issues, particularly economic matters, the candidates showed greater differences. Foster blasted Biggert’s vote for a budget plan that would slash spending and overhaul Medicare, providing government subsidies to individuals who chose to buy private insurance.

On Social Security, Biggert backed enabling individuals to invest a portion of their contributions in the stock market — a proposal Foster called too risky. On health policy, Foster touted his vote for President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, a law Biggert characterized as a jobs killer and sought to repeal. On taxes, Biggert supported extending all of President George W. Bush’s cuts, while Foster called for allowing them to expire for incomes above $250,000.

The election marks a comeback for Foster, 55, who served almost three years in a nearby House district. Republican Randy Hultren unseated Foster in a 2010 election that swept the GOP into control of the House.

As the Republicans retain their majority, Foster is vowing to work with them by focusing on, as he puts it, “numbers instead of political positions.”

“We have to make sure that government investments are as cost-effective and highest-return as possible,” he told WBEZ late Tuesday. “And that’s something that Democrats and Republicans agree on.”

Foster said bipartisan points of unity could include cutting “military systems the Pentagon doesn’t want” and encouraging a rebirth of domestic manufacturing. “One of the best things about the ongoing recovery is that U.S. manufacturing is leading that,” he said.

Foster also had a prediction about the election results. He said they would end acrimonious debates about Obamacare and financial reregulation.

Biggert, Foster turn to big names to drum up votes in tight House race

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 15:46:00 -0600

After a firestorm of negative television advertising in their tight Illinois congressional race, Republican U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert and Democrat Bill Foster are trying to get their supporters to the polls using a few bells and whistles.

Foster, a former one-term U.S. House member, started robocalls Monday to potential voters in the suburban Chicago district using the voice of former President Bill Clinton, who said the candidate’s experience in science and business provided “the kind of common-sense experience and leadership we need in Washington.”

Biggert, a seven-term House member, came up with an attention grabber of her own. In a YouTube video, U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk praised her as “one of the ultimate suburban moms who should be representing us in the Congress next year.” Kirk, the state’s top Republican, has kept a low profile since suffering a stroke in January.

The uplifting words from Clinton and Kirk stood out after months of mind-numbing accusations and counteraccusations in the TV ads. The money behind those ads flowed in as polls suggested the 11th District contest was one of the closest House races in the country. By October 17, according to their latest federal filings, the Biggert and Foster campaigns had raked in more than $2.5 million each.

And that’s just the beginning. The race attracted more than $8 million in outside money, according to the Federal Election Commission. Figures from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics last month showed Biggert’s campaign with an edge in that spending.

On Friday, Foster resorted to lending his campaign $500,000. The money paid for his final TV ad, according to Foster campaign aide Aviva Bowen. “We have to keep pace with the millions that [Biggert], her allies and the rightwing super-PACs have put up in false claims on TV,” Bowen said.

Biggert’s team saw the loan differently. “Congressman Foster is clearly desperate and terrified that Illinois voters are about to reject him and his dishonest smear campaigns once again,” Biggert spokesman Gill Stevens wrote.

On Monday, the candidates made a flurry of stops across the barbell-shaped district, which includes parts of Aurora, Naperville, Bolingbrook, Joliet and other suburbs west and southwest of Chicago. Foster’s campaign said U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Maryland) was joining him on afternoon visits to sites set up for campaign volunteers. A Biggert aide said the Republican would attend a Joliet dinner hosted by the local chamber of commerce.

Amid the combative TV ads, both candidates claimed to be moderate and eager to work across party lines. And they did not stand far apart on some hot-button issues. Both, for example, warmed up to legal recognition of same-sex marriage and avoided weighing in on whether Joliet should pursue a privately run detention center that would hold immigrants awaiting deportation.

Both Biggert and Foster said they were trying to protect the middle class but neither seemed to have a personal stake in reversing the economic squeeze of recent decades.

Biggert, 75, lives in Hinsdale and grew up in Wilmette, a suburb north of Chicago. Her father was a Walgreen Co. executive who headed the drugstore chain in the 1960s. She received a Northwestern University law degree and clerked for a federal judge. In politics, she began on a Hinsdale school board and made it to the U.S. House.

Foster, 55, and his brother launched a theater lighting business that made them rich. Foster, a Harvard-educated physicist, also spent more than 20 years at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory near Batavia, a suburb west of Chicago.

Foster won a 2008 special election to replace retiring Republican U.S. Rep. Dennis Hastert, a former longtime House speaker. The Democrat served just one full term before Randy Hultgren, a Republican state senator, unseated him in 2010. Foster moved to a Naperville section included in the 11th, a new congressional district with borders drawn by state Democrats after the 2010 census.