John Porter

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John Porter

The representative from the 10th congressional district of Illinois for the U.S. House of Representatives is republican John Porter. Porter has been the representative from this district for the last 11 terms (since the election of 1980). He was born in Evanston, IL on June 1, 1935. Here is where he started on his road to congress.

Following his graduation from Evanston High School, Porter enrolled at Northwestern University. There, Porter would go on to graduate with BSBA degrees in 1957. But he wasn’t done yet. After Northwestern, Porter went on to another Big Ten school. He enrolled at the University of Michigan to continue his education and work on his law degree. After graduating with a JD in 1961, Porter became an attorney. After admission to the bar, Porter served as an Honor Law Graduate Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice. From 1963 until his election to Congress, Porter practiced law in Evanston, Illinois. Then Porter’s career in politics takes off in 1973.

In 1973, Porter begins his political career as a representative in the Illinois State House of Representatives. As a State legislator, Porter earned plaudits for his leadership and legislative skills. Porter’s success on the state House is obvious when one considers at one point he steered 60 separate bills to final House passage without a single defeat in 6 years. He would serve on the state House until 1979. From there, he was elected to his first term of office on the U.S. House of Representatives.

He currently serves as a senior member on the Appropriations Committee. He is also serving as the Vice-Chairman of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee, and Chairman of the Labor, Health & Human Services and Education Subcommittee. Porter has been a strong supporter of the Clean Air and Clean Water Act and since 1993 has served as the Vice-Chairman of the Global Legislators Organization for a Balanced Environment (GLOBEUSA). In addition, Porter is co-founder of the Congressional Coalition on Population and Development. Porter is also a strong supporter of the arts and humanities and was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1999. Porter is one of only five House members to ever receive this honor. It is clear that Porter’s career in politics has been a success.

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