Senate candidate Kirk says award was for his entire military unit

U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk has admitted to misstating an award on his military resume, a key plank in the Highland Park Republican's high-profile campaign for Senate.

Kirk has claimed for years to have received the Navy Intelligence Officer of the Year award for service during the Serbian conflict in the late 1990s.

In fact, Kirk recently conceded on his blog that he wasn't honored with that award. He said it was "misidentified" and should have been listed as the "Rufus Taylor Intelligence Unit of the Year award for outstanding support provided during Operation Allied Force."

Kirk added, "It was one of the honors of my life to lead the Intelligence Division Electronic Attack Wing Aviano, Italy - and I am very proud of this award. My official biography will reflect this updated information."

One of the key differences between the awards is that the official Navy honor is bestowed on an individual and the Rufas Taylor award is given to the unit.

Aside from his resume, Kirk similarly misstated the award at a 2002 House committee hearing. In a remark recorded by C-SPAN, he said, "I was the Navy's Intelligence Officer of the Year,"

Kirk is facing Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, a Chicago Democrat, in the race to replace Sen. Roland Burris, who was appointed by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich to replace Barack Obama.

Kirk is a Naval Reserve intelligence officer, whose military service has been front and center over his five terms in the north suburban 10th District, and Kirk maintains the misinformation on his resume was simply a mistake.

Kirk served in the Serbian conflict and was decorated for it. He said in his blog his intelligence work during the conflict in 1999 won him a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal. Most recently, he served as a reservist in Afghanistan over the Christmas holiday.

But the admitted misstep threatens to cost Kirk credibility in a heated race, one drawing national attention and big dollars as Republicans hope to both erode Democrat control of the Senate and gain a clear symbolic victory in taking Obama's old Senate seat.

Kathleen Strand, communications director for the Giannoulias campaign, said Friday that Kirk "is lying or embellishing his military record," making him "the worst kind of Washington politician."

Giannoulias, meanwhile, has taken considerable heat for his family's Chicago bank, Broadway, which was shut down by the government over excessive failed loans and been the subject of media attention because of loans to alleged mob associates and convicted influence peddler Tony Rezko, a former key player in the Blagojevich administration.

Giannoulias has portrayed the family bank, which he helped lead until he ran for treasurer in 2006, as a victim of the economic collapse.

• Daily Herald news services contributed to this report.

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