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HomeIllinois NewsIllinois' Former U.S. Senator goes to work for the Chinese

Illinois’ Former U.S. Senator goes to work for the Chinese

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6a00d834515c5469e201b8d169f4ba970cNot surprisingly, Illinois' former U.S. Senator, Mark Kirk, has gone to work for the People's Republic of China. As reported by POLITICO, Kirk, who lost reelection in 2016, has registered as a lobbyist to represent the China-United States Exchange Foundation, a nonprofit based in Hong Kong. According to a Justice Department filing, Kirk "will engage in political activities that may include relevant outreach to U.S. government officials, non-government organizations and other individuals within the U.S.."

POLITICO reports that Kirk will be paid a retainer of $10,000 a month. BGR, the lobbying firm that has subcontracted Kirk, started representing the foundation earlier this year on a contract worth $400,000 a year. Lester Munson, Kirk's former chief of staff, who's now a principal at BGR, is registered to lobby for the foundation as well. POLITICO's Theodoric Meyer has more details here.

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12 COMMENTS

  1. I have no comment on this work.
    I do wonder how a former leader of the Illinois GOP as a U.S. Senator (who I supported) has disappeared from any support of our party, agenda, or candidates today. I assumed it was for health issues but it appears he can work now if he now has this gig.
    Why do people like this along with Rauner, Edgar, and Thompson all disappeared? We could use their influence and support along with their money and fundraising ability to support republican candidates in Illinois today.
    Where is the loyalty of these former leaders and elected officials? Illinois needs all the help they can get.
    I think about men like Jack Roeser who supported the Republican Party and probably the last leader to talk endlessly about the pension scam. Jack passed away 5 years ago next month. He was a LOYAL Illinois Republican. Here is something I wrote in IR. https://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2014/06/weyermuller-jack-roeser-honored-and-laid-to-rest.html

  2. Senator Kirk is working for the BGR Group, which is subcontracting him to China-U.S. Exchange Foundation, an NGO, which counts Henry Kissinger on its board. It’s not a PRC endeavor.
    Second, BGR Group, for whom Munson and Kirk work also took on pro bono work in support of Juan Guaido. So, I’d say Senator Kirk, who by the way is doing some behind-the scenes work for Republicans in Illinois — including conservative, pro-life Republicans — is and has always been on the side of liberty when it comes to foreign policy. Let Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib lament he’s working for a firm that’s supporting Guaido.

  3. Lobbying by former members of Congress should be completely banned. The 28th Amendment to the US Constitution should be presented with this single reform. If this happened, being a Congressman or Senator would be a lot less appealing and we wouldn’t need term limits. They would occur naturally.