U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) suffers stroke

Mark Kirk, Illinois junior U.S. Senator, suffered a stroke on Saturday. Prognosis good for mental recovery which may take several months but a full physical recovery is 'not great'.

It'll be interesting to see if how many on the 'left' demand a resignation like many on the 'right' did for Gabby Giffords and Senator Tim Johnson.

 

after seeing my father the last three years following a massive stroke, it's the illness i fear most for myself. dad is paralyzed entirely on his right side and confined to a wheelchair but it's the inability to speak anything more than gibberish that is the toughest thing to deal with. he understands, for the most part, what we say to him but what he thinks are normal words on his part are gibberish.

 

That has to be very rough. My dad suffered a stroke a dozen or so years ago. But even though his wasn't too severe, it ended his ability to read in any significant capacity and also to speak without often mixing up his words. It sucks to watch him get frustrated by knowing exactly what he wants to say and something completely different comes out of his mouth.

 

although we can't really have a talk, i've been able to spend more quality time with my dad since his stroke than the 20 years combined before that.

 

That's cool. Not much in-depth talking with my dad these days, but we don't need to talk to enjoy hanging out. I'm guessing it's the same for you.

 

I don't think you'll see calls for a resignation... Dick Durbin's already pledged to help out as much as possible. Nice to see reaching across party lines in situations like these.

If Kirk has to step down, the successor still has what, just under five years to serve? Interesting to see what would happen then. For now, best wishes to Mark for as full a recovery as possible.

 

Not that it will happen, but......

According to Illinois election law, if Senator Kirk resigned, say in the next few weeks, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn picks a successor that will serve until a special election is held in November 2012.

If Mark Kirk held off resigning until September 2012, Governor Quinn still picks a successor and the special election wouldn't be held until November 2014.

In both cases, the winner of the special election would serve in the U.S. Senate until January 2, 2017.


edited to add Illinois Election Law:

When a vacancy shall occur in the office of United States Senator from this state, the Governor shall make temporary appointment to fill such vacancy until the next election of representatives in Congress, at which time such vacancy shall be filled by election, and the senator so elected shall take office as soon thereafter as he shall receive his certificate of election. (10 ILCS 5/25-8)

 

You left out the section that describes Blago's take.

 

Has the governor put Kirk's seat up for auction yet?

I lost my grandmother to a stroke last year. She was golfing five times a week until she was 83 then she had a stroke and could barely do anything for three years before she died.