Kirk is the kind of senator we need

All too often, politicians in this country are insulated from being personally affected by the choices they make. Congress votes to go to war, but few Congressmen or Senators, or their children, serve in the military. Congress is poised to massively overhaul the nation's health care system, but Congressman and Senators already have excellent health care and won't have to struggle with the vastly increased insurance premiums that the reform bill is projected to create. Washington politicians just seem disconnected from the concerns of regular citizens. We are excited to find that one candidate for Senate is different - Congressman Mark Kirk.

You may have heard that Congressman Kirk, a 20-year naval reserve veteran, recently returned from a deployment to Afghanistan. It was his second deployment to that war zone. Kirk was the first sitting Congressman to deploy to an active conflict since World War II. He knows the challenges that our men and women in uniform face, because he's lived them.

Kirk also stood up for equality in health care. He vowed earlier this year that if Congress passed a health care reform bill with a public option, he would introduce legislation to force Congressman and Senators to use that public option for their health care. We desperately need people like Mark Kirk in Washington, who don't insulate themselves from their actions. If more politicians were directly affected by their decisions, maybe they would make better ones.

Electing Mark Kirk to the Senate is a step in that direction, and he has our support.

Audrey and Charlie Van Eeckhout

Deerfield