On the recordDecember 9, 2016
today I pay tribute to the junior Senator from Illinois, my good friend Mark Kirk. I know I speak for all of my colleagues in expressing gratitude of his service on behalf of our Nation. When he leaves us in January, we will miss him dearly. Senator Kirk was born in Champaign, IL, in 1959 and attended Cornell University, where he graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in history. He would later earn a master's degree from the London School of Economics and a law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. His academic background in law and history prepared him for a life in public service. Senator Kirk first came to Capitol Hill as a staffer, working for Congressman John Porter of Illinois. He quickly rose through the staff ranks to become Congressman Porter's chief of staff before leaving to take a post at the World Bank and, later, at the State Department. While still working on Capitol Hill, Mark also pursued military service, joining the U.S. Navy Reserve in 1989 as an intelligence officer. He was an active member of the Navy Reserve for the next 24 years, retiring from the military with the rank of commander. As a Navy officer, Mark's duties took him to conflict zones across the world-- from the forests of former Yugoslavia to the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan. For more than a decade, Mark continued military service while simultaneously working as a Congressman in the House of Representatives.…
