Issue Position: Kids Come First

Issue Position

As a former school teacher, Mark Kirk knows that kids come first. With a commitment to local control of schools, Congressman Kirk is leading efforts to improve public education, make college more affordable, protect our children from drug gangs and online predators and support programs for at-risk youth.

Enhancing Local Control of Schools

When Mark Kirk came to Congress, he formed an Education Advisory Board led by local education leaders to get expert advice on his community's needs -- a model he will take across the State of Illinois. With recommendations from this Board, Congressman Kirk introduced legislation to reform aspects of the No Child Left Behind law to better serve our kids and local schools.

First-hand experience and knowledge of parents is extremely valuable in helping to improve the safety and education of our children. That is why Congressman Kirk also formed the Parent Advisory Board to share insights and develop common-sense solutions to the problems facing local communities.

Making College more Affordable

With tuition costs rising, Mark Kirk is fighting to make college more affordable and accessible for Illinois families. He backed the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 and the College Student Relief Act to reduce reliance on private college loans, cut interest rates on subsidized student loans in half, and give parent borrowers more time to pay off federal PLUS college loans.

Congressman Kirk co-authored the 401(Kids) Family Savings Act to help parents save for their child's education -- and he supported the College Opportunity and Affordability Act to encourage colleges to limit price increases for tuition, restore accountability to student loan programs, and simplify the student aid application process.

Protecting Kids from Online Predators and Drug Gangs

When Illinois schools conducted background check on new hires, they were limited to Illinois information only. With more than 1,700 non-compliant sex offenders roaming our state, our kids were at risk. Congressman Kirk co-authored the School Safety Acquiring Faculty Excellence (SAFE) Act, now in law, which linked state and national criminal databases to make sure pedophiles are not hired as teachers or coaches.

Internet predators pose new 21st century dangers to our kids. Mark Kirk co-authored the Deleting Online Predators Act to protect our children from online sexual predators especially on social networking sites such as MySpace.com. After learning about the dangers of online social networking sites, Congressman Kirk led efforts to enact this legislation and warn parents about online pedophiles who turned the Internet into a virtual hunting ground that endangers our children.

Pressure from federal law enforcement is driving gang members out of Chicago and into the suburbs where police do not have the resources to fight them. Congressman Kirk worked with local law enforcement to upgrade anti-gang resources -- and he co-authored the Gang Elimination Act, which requires the Justice Department to identify and take down the nation's top three major drug gangs by coordinating efforts at the federal, state and local levels.

Supporting Programs for At-Risk Youth

Congressman Kirk worked with local community leaders to design community-based strategies to keep at-risk youth in school and help them succeed. Working with his Latino Advisory Board, Mark helped expand the "Families Involved in Reading Stories Together" -- a program that teaches young Latina mothers English so they can help their kids with homework. Mark also partnered with local job training initiatives like Youthbuild and faith-based groups in Waukegan and North Chicago to promote private-public partnerships and community programming to keep kids in school and away from drugs and gangs.

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