Father of fallen Marine to run for Congress
A Gurnee veterans group volunteer whose eldest son was killed in the Iraq war is entering the 8th Congressional District Republican primary supporting the war, tougher illegal immigration laws and abortion rights.
Kirk Morris, a 49-year-old sales executive for a bio-fuels manufacturing company, will face off against former minor-league hockey player Steve Greenberg for the right to take on two-term Democrat Melissa Bean of Barrington.
"I've decided that it is time to put action behind my words," Morris said Wednesday.
Morris and Greenberg face the difficult task of energizing a Republican base torn by a vicious six-candidate GOP primary in 2006 and stung by investment banker David McSweeney's failure to knock off Bean.
But Morris' entrance to the race also hints at a forthcoming fierce debate over the Iraq war on the campaign trial.
Morris and Greenberg support the recent surge in troop deployments and oppose withdrawal.
Bean opposed the latest troop surge but is facing a challenge from anti-war activist Randi Scheurer of Lindenhurst. Should that primary challenge fail, Scheurer's husband, Bill, is expected to run again under a third party. He won 5 percent of the vote in 2006.
Morris's son, Geoffrey, was a 19-year-old Marine Corps machine gunner in 2004 when he was killed in Iraq. Since then, Morris has been active in veterans issues, helping to raise money for post-traumatic stress disorder therapy and a Gurnee veterans memorial.
Morris has also been an outspoken critic of famous anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq on the same day as his.
"I absolutely want to bring people home as soon as we can, but only after victory," Morris said.
It remains unclear whether Morris will garner Republican establishment support, a critical step that Greenberg has made an early effort to reach.
On other issues, Morris wants to strengthen laws that force the deportation of illegal immigrants who are arrested. He favors parental consent laws but would not vote for a constitutional ban on abortion, and he wants to strengthen the Environmental Protection Agency.
Greenburg opposes abortion rights unless the mother's life is at risk or the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest.
Both Greenberg and Morris lack previous public office experience.
Morris said he will make an official announcement of his candidacy on Thursday.