Yehiel Mark Kalish

American politician

Yehiel Mark Kalish

Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 16th district
In office January 2019 (2019-January) – January 2021 (2021-January)
Preceded by	Lou Lang
Succeeded by	Denyse Wang Stoneback

Personal details
Born	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Political party	Democratic
Residence	Far Rockaway^{[citation needed]}
Alma mater	Skokie Yeshiva (B.A.) Walden University (M.P.A.)
Profession	Business Owner Rabbi

Yehiel Mark Kalish was a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 16th district.^[1] The 16th district, located in the Chicago area, consists of the West Ridge neighborhood in the City of Chicago and parts of the nearby suburbs of Morton Grove, Niles, Lincolnwood and Skokie.^[2] He was appointed to succeed Lou Lang who had resigned earlier in January. Kalish is an ordained Orthodox rabbi.^[1] He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Hebrew Theological College and a Master of Public Administration from Walden University.^[3]

He is the only rabbi to have served in the Illinois state legislature, and was also a cantor for Congregation Shaarei Tzedek Mishkan Yair in Chicago. He is the brother of Dafna Michaelson Jenet, member of the Colorado House of Representative in Denver.^[4]

On December 21, 2020, shortly after losing his election to continue serving in the House, it was reported by Politico that Kalish had been hired as CEO of Chevra Hatzalah, the largest hatzalah organization in the United States.^[5]

Electoral history

Illinois 16th State House District Democratic Primary, 2020^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Denyse Wang Stoneback	7,749	43.16
	Democratic	Yehiel "Mark" Kalish (incumbent)	5,799	32.30
	Democratic	Kevin Olickal	4,407	24.54
Total votes			17,955	100.0

References

^ ^a ^b Staff (January 20, 2019). "Agudath Israel of Illinois Congratulates Yehiel Mark Kalish on his Appointment to Illinois' House Of Representatives". Baltimore Jewish Life. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
^ "PA 97-0006 Legislative District 8" (PDF). May 18, 2011. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
^ "Representative Yehiel M. Kalish (D) 16th District". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
^ Oster, Marcy. "Legislator US rabbi in Illinois loses Democratic primary bid". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
^ Kapos, Shia (December 21, 2020). "Botched Raid Fallout — New Bill on Remote Legislation — Kim Foxx's vision". Politico Illinois Playbook. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
^ "Election Results 2020 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved April 17, 2020.