New suburban Congressmen start work today
As the new Congress gets ready to start work today, freshman lawmakers from the West and Northwest suburbs will be among those taking on the job for the first time.
Congressmen Joe Walsh, Robert Dold, Randy Hultgren and Adam Kinzinger will together join the House of Representative's new GOP majority, representing the largest influx of suburban Republicans in nearly 20 years.
Walsh, a McHenry resident representing the 8th District, won the office held by three-term Democrat Melissa Bean by a mere 291 votes, on a platform of fiscal conservatism. He has already distinguished himself by vowing not to take the federal health care insurance for he and his wife that the job offers. He also wants to see President Barack Obama's health care reform law overturned.
The tea party member also wants to cut federal spending, including eliminating the departments of Education and Energy, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency.
Dold, a Kenilworth business owner, represents the 10th District, taking the seat held by now Sen. Mark Kirk and following in his footsteps as a fiscal conservative and social moderate.
Dold has some experience in Washington, D.C., having worked for Vice President Dan Quayle and the Bush-Quayle re-election campaign, and then on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Hultgren, of St. Charles, was an Illinois state senator when he won election in the 14th District, ousting freshman Democrat Bill Foster to the seat that was once held by former House Speaker Dennis Hastert.
Like Dold, he is considered an up-and-coming “young gun” Republican.
Hultgren says Congress didn't do enough fast enough to reverse the recession and says Washington should operate in a more bipartisan way.
Kinzinger, 32, will represent the South suburban 11th District, where he's the youngest U.S. representative in more than 60 years. The Manteno resident is an Air Force pilot and served on the McLean County Board.
He, too, is part of the Republican Party's “young guns” program and has said he wants to reform Washington. He's also pitched a plan to advance nuclear production and energy independence.