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Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) said he saw three angels in the hospital when he awoke from a stroke-induced coma in an interview published Wednesday. Kirk — who had a stroke almost a year ago — is set to walk up the U.S. Capitol building’s steps Thursday without any assistance. Kirk told suburban-Chicago’s The Daily Herald the angels asked him, “You want to come with us?” “No,” Kirk responded. “I’ll hold off.” Doctors sent Kirk into a coma after he had a stroke Jan. 21, 2012 and they temporarily removed a 4-by-8 inch piece of his skull to help his brain...

Before lawmakers get back to the business of arguing about taxes, deficits and other issues as they open a new session of Congress today, there was just a nice moment outside the Capitol. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., who suffered a stroke last Jan. 21, came to the Capitol for the first time since then. And as C-SPAN cameras watched, he made a very public return — slowly walking up the steps of the Capitol with assistance from Vice President Biden and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va. Kirk, 53, was cheered on by other members of Congress, including his Democratic colleague...

The White House announced its opposition to a new round of Iran sanctions that the Senate unanimously approved Friday, in the latest instance of Congress pushing for more aggressive punitive measures on Iran than the administration deems prudent. On Thursday, Sens. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) introduced the amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which the Senate passed 94-0. The new legislative language would blacklist Iran's energy, port, shipping, and shipbuilding sectors, while also placing new restrictions on Iran's ability to get insurance for all these industries. The legislation would also vastly expand U.S. support for human...

United States Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) reveals the progress that he has made in his recovery after suffering an ischemic stroke in January. Sen. Kirk recently completed a 9-week mobility study at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, where he worked tirelessly to improve his walking, speech, and mobility. During the course of the study, Sen. Kirk walked a total of 14.79 miles and climbed 145 flights of stairs.

The U.S. Senate recently passed a precedential decision regarding refugees, UNRWA and the Palestinian Arabs.... ..... This paradox is known to anyone who has eyes in his head. It has many causes. One is the strange definition of an UNRWA refugee as those who: “... were in the territory of Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948 and lost both their homes and livelihoods as a result of the Arab- Israeli conflict.” But over time their descendants also came into the framework, and strangely enough, and contrary to the definition, those who were not needy in the first place, and...

Can Any of These House Underdogs Survive? Stuart Rothenberg June 8, 2012 · 1:48 PM EDT Remember their names: Reps. Charles Bass (R-N.H.), John Barrow (D-Ga.), Bobby Schilling (R-Ill.), Jim Matheson (D-Utah) and Robert Dold (R-Ill.). If any of these five House incumbents survive, it will surprise most dispassionate observers (including some in their own parties). But upsets happen, and each of these candidates has a scenario for victory. Moments after Bass was declared the winner in November 2010, most political insiders figured he would be doomed in 2012. But considering his past electoral success, reports of his political demise...

06/05/2012 04:36 Legislation would force State Department to differentiate between Palestinian refugees and descendants of refugees. WASHINGTON – Palestinian advocates are warning that a new US Senate amendment dictating a reporting requirement on the issue of Palestinian refugees could set back efforts to reach a peace deal. The amendment to a bill, recently approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee, mandates that the secretary of state must report how many of the Palestinians serviced by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency fled or left homes in Israel during the War of Independence and how many are only their descendants. Related:...

oday U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) released a video outlining the progress of his recovery after suffering from an ischemic stroke in January and expressed his deep gratitude to the people of Illinois for allowing him the time he needs to recover. "I want to thank everyone especially for the patience they have given me to recover from a big stroke," said Kirk. "[And also] to the people of Illinois for granting me the honor to represent them in the United States Senate. I cannot wait to get back to work to vote to spend less, borrow less and tax...

U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, who suffered a stroke in January, has gone home. Kirk (R-Ill.), 52, had been hospitalized since he first suffered stroke symptoms on Jan. 21. Since February, he has been at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, where his doctors said he has made steady progress and will be involved in a research project that involves more field rehabilitation than normal. Though he will be spending nights at the homes of “various relatives,” his staff said, he will be reporting by day to the RIC to continue his rehab. A lift has been installed on the stairs at...

The Republican senator elected in 2010 to fill the seat once occupied by Barack Obama suffered a stroke Saturday and underwent surgery today to repair related damage, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Mr. [Mark] Kirk, 51 years old and a freshman Republican, checked himself into Lake Forest Hospital on Saturday, and doctors found damage to his carotid artery on the right side of his neck. He was transferred to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where tests revealed he had suffered a stroke. His office said the surgery was successful.“Due to his young age, good health and the nature...

Sen. Mark Kirk undergoes surgery after suffering stroke 9:31 a.m. CST, January 23, 2012 U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk underwent surgery today at Northwestern Memorial Hospital after suffering a stroke, his office said. "On Saturday, Senator Kirk checked himself into Lake Forest Hospital, where doctors discovered a carotid artery dissection in the right side of his neck," his office said in a statement.

Top of the hour news confirms the report and surgery this morning.

U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk was hospitalized with a stroke over the weekend and underwent surgery today at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, his office said. Kirk, 52, captured President Barack Obama’s old U.S. Senate seat in a close 2010 election against Democrat Alexi Giannoulias.

We Stand for Principle Over Politicsand the Establishment Can't Stand It December 21, 2011 BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: "House Democrats tried Wednesday to force a vote on the Senate’s two-month extension of the payroll-tax cut, but Republicans gaveled the House closed to prevent them from having a chance, as top GOP leaders huddled down the hall to try to figure a way out of the mess. The House was set to hold a pro forma session, but two top Democrats, Reps. Steny H. Hoyer and Chris Van Hollen, demanded to be recognized to try to force a vote on the...

Mark Kirk will formally endorse former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s bid for the GOP presidential nomination on Monday, sources close to the political operation of the first-term Illinois Republican senator said Sunday. Kirk, the state’s highest-ranking Republican officeholder, will join more than 50 members of Congress who already have endorsed Romney’s candidacy, leading up to the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3. “Romney will cut spending, repeal the health care law and restore private sector economic growth. He is a foreign policy hawk who will stand up to Iran,” Kirk said in a statement prepared in advance of his endorsement...

Just go to this link (http://www.c-span.org/Events/Senator-Mark-Kirk-R-IL/10737426166-1/) and watch it.

Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk hasn't endorsed a GOP candidate for president, but it's looking more and more like he's on Mitt Romney's team. Kirk said Monday the field is getting down to "Romney and the anti-Romney," listing all of the GOP darlings -- Palin, Bachman, Trump et al -- that have fallen by the wayside. "The underlying story is the rise and rise of Mitt Romney," Kirk said. In regards to the Herman Cain sexual harassment controversy, Kirk said Cain "needs to respond and respond completely." "I do think his story is largely ending," Kirk said. "The critical thing is...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Democrat-controlled Senate on Thursday rejected a Republican attempt to block a regulation intended to curb power plant pollution that blows downwind into other states. By a 56-41 vote, senators defeated a resolution by Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who said the step was needed to rein in what he called the Obama administration's overzealous job-killing approach to environmental protection. "We are simply asking that the clean air regulations already on the books stay in place and we do not make the regulations so onerous that they put utility plants out of business and we have an...

Sen. John McCain, one of the most ardent supporters in Washington of the Libyan resistance, released a statement on the reported death of Col. Moammar Kadafi, calling for the United States to “deepen” its support for the strife-torn nation. (snip) “The death of Moammar Kadafi marks an end to the first phase of the Libyan revolution,” McCain said Thursday. “While some final fighting continues, the Libyan people have liberated their country. Now the Libyan people can focus all of their immense talents on strengthening their national unity, rebuilding their country and economy, proceeding with their democratic transition, and safeguarding the...

In March, Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) was urging President Barack Obama to better define the U.S. military’s role in Libya and seek Congress’s approval to use force in the north African nation. But after a day touring the streets of Tripoli and meeting rebel leaders who overthrew the regime of Col. Moammar Qadhafi, Kirk praised Obama’s handling of the Libyan conflict as a undeniable “success.” “This is a victory for the United States military, for our British and French allies, for NATO, for the president of the United States, but most importantly for the Libyan people. …” Kirk said in...