Mark Kirk 연방하원의원 6선 당선축하(일리노이주): 이상복 교수(통역관)

"With 94 percent of precincts reporting, Kirk had 123,116 votes, or 55 percent, and Seals had 102,197 votes, or 45 percent.

Kirk, a moderate, played up his contributions to the district although Seals blasted him for his support of the unpopular war in Iraq."(Chicago Tribune, 2008. 11. 5) 

(Mark Kirk 미연방 하원의원<일이노이주 공화당/재정위원회위원>이 6선 진출에 성공했다. 민주당 대통령 후보, 오바마의 지원을 얻고 등장한 Dan Seals을 2만3천표 이상으로 이겼다. 축하드린다!!!

--- Rep. Mark Kirk (전)자문역 겸 통역관, 이상복교수)

 

 

Illinois Democrats pick up 1 GOP seat in Congress

By DEANNA BELLANDI | Associated Press Writer

3:16 AM CST, November 5, 2008

CHICAGO - Illinois is sending new faces to Congress after Tuesday's election and there's the possibility of more depending on what shakes out now that Barack Obama is headed to the White House.

Two new House members -- one Democrat and one Republican -- were elected to replace exiting GOP congressmen and a new senator will be appointed to replace Obama. There could be even more change in the state's delegation if that senate spot goes to an Illinois member of the House.

The newest additions to Washington from Illinois are Democrat Debbie Halvorson, an influential state senator who won exiting GOP Rep. Jerry Weller's seat, and Aaron Schock, a 27-year-old state representative who captured retiring Rep. Ray LaHood's spot in central Illinois to keep it in Republican hands.

Halvorson beat back a challenge from Republican concrete company owner Marty Ozinga to take Weller's seat in a district stretching from Chicago's south suburbs to the farms of central Illinois. Weller opted not to seek an eighth term amid ethics questions.

"The race showed people were interested in a change," Halvorson said.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Halvorson had 182,463 votes, or 58 percent, and Ozinga had 107,725 votes, or 35 percent. Green Party candidate Jason Wallace of Normal had 22,313 votes, or 7 percent.

Joining Halvorson will be the GOP's Schock, who will be the youngest member of Congress.

"Age is no indicator of someone's ability," said Schock, of Peoria.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Schock had 177,679 votes, or 59 percent, and Democrat Colleen Callahan, a veteran radio broadcaster and Peoria County businesswoman, had 113,492 votes, or 38 percent. Green Party candidate Sheldon Schafer of Peoria had 9,562 votes, or 3 percent.

The victories by Halvorson and Schock mean the Illinois House delegation will have 12 Democrats and seven Republicans.

But the faces could change again.

Two of the contenders to replace Obama in the U.S. Senate are sitting members of Congress from Illinois -- Democratic Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Jesse Jackson Jr.

And there could be more movement involving another member of Congress. It has been reported that Obama has approached Democratic U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Chicago to be his chief of staff.

Other Illinois congressional seats stayed the same, despite a closely watched bid by Democrats to try to unseat a four-term GOP congressman who triumphed in a rematch even though the national Democratic party pumped lots of money into the race.

Democrats failed in their bid for U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk's seat in the 10th District, a mix of wealthy and working-class communities that borders Lake Michigan and stretches north of Chicago to almost Wisconsin.

The race was a rematch between Kirk, a Naval Reserve commander, and Democrat Dan Seals, a business consultant Kirk beat in 2006 with 53 percent of the vote.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which didn't give Seals any financial help until just days before the election last time, pumped more than $2 million into the race this time around, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

"We lost the battle but I think we won the war," Seals said Tuesday night. "The wrong track this country got off on over the last eight years is about to be corrected so I'm excited about President Obama."

Seals campaigned as an agent of change just like Obama, who even cut a radio ad to try to give Seals a last-minute boost.

With 94 percent of precincts reporting, Kirk had 123,116 votes, or 55 percent, and Seals had 102,197 votes, or 45 percent.

Kirk, a moderate, played up his contributions to the district although Seals blasted him for his support of the unpopular war in Iraq.

The Kirk-Seals race wasn't the only congressional rematch.

Democratic Rep. Bill Foster will keep the formerly GOP seat he won earlier this year in a special election after again beating Republican businessman Jim Oberweis in Illinois' 14th Congressional District.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Foster had 180,849 votes, or 57 percent, and Oberweis had 133,959 votes, or 43 percent.

Foster is a Geneva physicist who first went to Washington in March after beating Oberweis in the special election to fill the remainder of former GOP House Speaker Dennis Hastert's term. Hastert retired from the district that stretches from the far-western Chicago suburbs to almost to the Mississippi River.

Speaking after his victory, Foster said health care must be a priority in Congress.

"When I talk to people who are in economic trouble, very often the root cause of their economic trouble is health care," he said.