Rep. Mark Kirk's Divorce To Be Finalized

U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk and his wife, Kimberly Vertolli, are divorcing after eight years, according to a statement issued by his office Friday:

Congressman Kirk's divorce from his wife of eight years, Kimberly Vertolli, will become final on Monday, June 8. They remain friends and the legal filings related to the divorce will not be sealed.

Kirk and Vertolli met at the Pentagon in 1998, according to the Lake County News-Sun, where Kirk was lead counsel for the House International Relations Committee and Vertolli was in the Navy.

The North Shore Republican has been weighing running for either Senate or Governor in 2010. He has yet to announce his intentions, despite saying he would do so in May.

Comments

[ConnieInCleveland]

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/06/kirk-crusades-for-crackdown-on-strong-pot.html

Kirk crusades for crackdown on strong pot

U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk will call for legislation Monday that would toughen drug trafficking laws regarding a highly-potent form of marijuana, with penalties of up to 25 years in prison for a 1st-time offense.

The law would target offenders who sell or distribute marijuana that has a THC content exceeding 15 percent, which is between 5 and 10 percent higher than average marijuana, according to Kirk's office. THC, or tetrahydro­cannabinol­, is the main active ingredient in marijuana.

** Enough is enough! It's time to stop the madness! Not the madness of smoking cannabis. I'm talking about politicians who choose to spin madness in the war on drugs for political gain.

Right now people are speaking out daily about the wonders of the plant cannabis hemp. States have changed their laws to enable people to consume cannabis for medical purposes.

Is this guy nuts? Cannabis has many medicinal uses. The THC is one of the main substances in cannabis, which helps humans. Pharmaceutical companies are working to perfect their drugs benefits. Pharmaceutical companies should be so lucky, as to be able to perfect their drugs, using better agricultural processes.

Cannabis does not require the disclaimers, listing all the horrendous side effects, which their drugs can cause. Cannabis has never killed anyone.

[Trublulu]

Mark Kirk is sooooo phoney! I am embarrassed to say that although I voted for Pres. Obama and Sen. Durbin in the past election, I also voted for Kirk. I actually believed his campaign rhetoric that he was a bi-partisan Republican who would work with Democrats!!!! Arrrrgggggg!!! That was so stupid.
Look at his web-page. He is against Pres. Obama's health care reform proposals, siding with the big business interests/chamber of commerce types in his mostly upper-middle class district.
His excuse is that Canadians and British citizens claim that socialized medicine is bad. He brings up that old, old drivel about long waits in Canada and Great Britain for patients to see a health care provider. Obviously, he has never had to wait in a US hosptial for emergency treatment and I doubt a US Congressman has ever had to wait 2-3 months to see a specialist. Probably gets an appt. the same day.
He flip flops all over the place on issues, but since Obama has become president he has consistently joined with the hard-right on his votes. Alas, he will probably become a US senator or governor because of the mess created by Blagojevich.

[Cogs]

He's going to need help carrying that baggage. Who among the Illinois GOP wants to step to the front and work to get him elected? I cannot think of anyone who's own motives would not be questioned.

[Lakeview Greg]

Senate candidates with divorce baggage don't seem to work out too well in Illinois. How do you think we got Alan Keyes for a candidate. The Republican nominee had his baggage spread all over the state and the the leading Democratic candidate at the time had big time divorce baggage as well clearing the way for Barack Obama to get the nomination and on from there.

[dclobbyist]

This is only news because it's a Republican. I guess the story about Democrat John Murtha getting cozy with lobbyists isn't really news.

[VOTER]

It is posted here at Huffpost.

[Eric8869]

The democrats don't run on a platform of family values, attack and judge gay people etc. It's the total Hypocracy that is the story. so give me a break

[bdl0715]

The Murtha story has been all over the press. You're obviously not looking very hard for it.

[dclobbyist]

Republicans get divorces, Democrats just cheat.

[local21]

I'm not promoting Kirk but he isn't anti-gay ,:

* Voted YES on prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation. (Nov 2007)
* Voted NO on Constitutionally defining marriage as one-man-one-woman. (Jul 2006)
* Voted YES on making the PATRIOT Act permanent. (Dec 2005)
* Voted NO on Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage. (Sep 2004)
* Voted YES on protecting the Pledge of Allegiance. (Sep 2004)
* Voted YES on constitutional amendment prohibiting flag desecration. (Jun 2003)
* Supports anti-flag desecration amendment. (Mar 2001)
* Require 90 day delay for compliance before ADA lawsuits. (May 2002)
* Limit interstate class-action lawsuits to federal courts . (May 2002)
* Rated 47% by the ACLU, indicating a mixed civil rights voting record. (Dec 2002)
* Issue a commemorative postage stamp of Rosa Parks. (Dec 2005)
* Rated 75% by the HRC, indicating a pro-gay-rights stance. (Dec 2006)

* Re-introduce the Equal Rights Amendment. (Mar 2007) * Support woman’s right to choose; along with family planning. (Sep 2000)
* Voted YES on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines. (Jan 2007)
* Voted YES on allowing human embryonic stem cell research. (May 2005)
* Voted NO on restricting interstate transport of minors to get abortions. (Apr 2005)
* Voted NO on making it a crime to harm a fetus during another crime. (Feb 2004)
* Voted YES on forbidding human cloning for reproduction & medical research. (Feb 2003)
* Voted NO on funding for health providers who don't provide abortion info. (Sep

[bdl0715]

Kirk is a more moderate republican than most.

[mamala4]

Oh really? He voted with Bush almost 100% of the time....is that moderate?

[local21]

If some of the people slamming Kirk would actually look at his voting record I think they would be surprised. http://www.ontheissues.org/IL/Mark_Kirk.htm

Kirk is my congressman and I am a diehard Dem so I haven't voted for Kirk . If Jan Shenkowsky(sp?) and Kirk lock horns for the US Senate I'm voting for Jan.

Kirk , outside of voting for the Bush tax cuts, is tolerable. ;)

[VOTER]

He is my Congressman, too.

He is NO MODERATE but a die hard GOP LEMMING.
The ONLY time he has voted against the GOP was when the Party'
didn't need his vote to pass what they wanted.

He has NEVER gone against his Party when it counted.

[mamala4]

Thank you for expressing my sentiments as well....

[Eric8869]

Kirk is the congressman of the ultra rich - must be nice.

[VOTER]

The 10th District has wealthy citizens but the majority are
average middle class.

The wealthy ( GOP) here will call Kirk a "moderate."

The majority of us will never do so and for very good
reasons. He doesn't represent us and never has.

[atlantajoe]

is he as rich as Pelosi ?

[grf67]

A Navy republican - the worst of two worlds. About normal for fundamentalist repubs. Most have has several wives.

[lochnessmonster]

The North Shore Republican has been weighing running for either Senate or Governor in 2010.

NOOOO...not another crook in the governor's office.

[MisterHands]

Hypocrisy 2010, here we come!

[Zengeist]

It would be great if that were the photo of their announcement.

[overcat]

Family values indeed. Must've been gay marriage that ultimately threatened and destroyed his marriage, right?

RIGHT!?!

[callanish]

You go hypocritical G.O.P!!

[rf dude]

The GOP family that prays together -

uh, guess not.

Never mind...
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