Rabbi, CEO Of Lobbying Firm Appointed To Replace Lou Lang

SKOKIE, IL — A West Ridge rabbi and CEO of a lobbying firm was appointed to replace longtime Democratic state Rep. Lou Lang, who resigned two days before he was due to begin his 17th term in office to himself become a lobbyist.

Yehiel "Mark" Kalish, 43, was sworn in Sunday to represent the 16th District for the all but two weeks of the of the two-year term. Lang ran unopposed in both the March 2018 Democratic Party primary and general election in November. Kalish, who has never before sought elected office, has become the first ordained rabbi to serve in the Illinois General Assembly.

After presentations of up to a half-hour from about 20 candidates for the position, Kalish was elected in a weighted vote by a trio of local Democratic Party leaders: former Rep. Lou Lang, who remains Niles Township Committeeman and had 53 percent of the vote, Ira Silverstein, who lost a primary to retain his Illinois Senate seat but remains 50th Ward Committeeman with 45 percent of the vote and Ald. Pat O'Connor, the 40th Ward Committeeman who recently replaced the indicted Ald. Ed Burke as chair of the Chicago City Council Finance Committee. (O'Connor had just 2 percent of the vote and sent a proxy to the meeting, according to Lang.)

"It was important to me that I send someone down there who shares my values on important issues," said Lang, the former deputy majority leader of House Democrats. "Choice, labor, gay rights, minimum wage, progressive income tax, the need for a capital bill, all of these things were asked of every person." He said very little separated the candidates, who each gave virtually the same answers to a series of questions. After the presentations were done, Lang said he and Silverstein discussed the candidates and each picked Kalish as the first choice.

Lang said Kalish's knowledge of state government from prior work in Springfield and Washington, D.C., made him an especially strong candidate. Another factor was his ability to retain the seat in the 2020 election.

"Not only was he best in terms of the understanding of state government, but we also thought he was the best in terms of his electability two years from now,” Lang said.

Kalish is currently the co-founder and CEO of S4 Group, a governmental affairs firm operating on both the state and federal levels. (Kalish is also the chair of the firm's political action committee, S4 PAC, according to state election records.)

The firm specializes in highly-regulated industries that are "concerned about adverse legislation and bureaucracy, need legislative reform for future growth or need a license to operate," according to an archived version of its website, "such as healthcare, education, nonprofit and not-for-profit, gaming, science and technology, transportation, defense contracting, energy and environmental initiatives." Most of the clients of the firm, founded in 2014, are located on the East Coast and in other states, Kalish said.

"We ended up not doing a lot of work in Illinois just because the Rauner Administration created such a terrible political environment," Kalish said he initially anticipated being more involved in Illinois politics. "But then Rauner sucked the life out of it." With his new responsibilities, he said he expected to take a step back from the firm.

Lang said positive past experience working with Kalish on various issues, including nursing home interests and on behalf of religious groups, was important to his decision making.

"He was always a good voice of reason – never strident, never one-sided – always understood the art of negotiation, always understood the art of keeping people at the table. Always understood why it was important – even if you have the votes to crush the other side," Lang said, "to make sure everybody got something out of a negotiation."

Kalish highlighted his work with Lang to ensure legislation that followed revelations of clergy sex abuse in 2002 focused more on protecting children than vilifying clergy, working on transportation needs for private religious groups and supporting sexual assault survivors.

UPDATE: Niles Township Democrats To Endorse Kalish's Primary Challenger

According to a biography on an archived version of the S4 website, Kalish began his career in 2002 with Agudath Israel of America as midwest regional director. Eventually becoming vice president and national director of government affairs, he expanded the advocacy and community organization into 27 states and helped raise $3 million annually.

For more than 15 years, Kalish has served as a cantor at Congregation Shaarei Tzedek Mishkan Yair, 2832 W. Touhy Ave., Chicago. He said he expects to move back to Skokie before filing for re-election.

Kalish is a Philadelphia native – he said he deactivated his Twitter account ahead of his appointment due to a large quantity of tweets in favor of Philadelphia sports teams, especially after the Jan. 6 NFC Wild Card game – and a graduate of Fasman Yeshiva High School in Skokie. He went on to receive his rabbinical ordination from Hebrew Theological College and said his religious training would be valuable as a newly-minted lawmaker.

"We are taught to calmly and carefully analyze questions, get to the bottom of an issue, truly understand what we're doing, and act with reason, not with emotion. I'm going to try to bring that to the state legislature," he said. "I was taught that there are three sides to every story – his side, his side and the truth. So I think that's also going to bode me well in the legislature as we are debating and trying to get to the bottom of the issues."

Kalish is the father of six children ranging in age from 7 to 21, all of whom attend or attended private religious schools. He said he supports private school vouchers and school choice but said his personal views will not affect his votes in the legislature.

''I'm now a public official. So, I have public schools in my district," Kalish said. "I have to take care of them and I want my public schools to thrive. I need strong public education in my district. That has to be a massive priority of mine and it will be."

Kalish said his top priority in office would be getting a capital spending bill for necessary improvements in the district. He said he is also focused on education spending and had already contacted representatives of the teacher's union to make sure public schools in the district have their needs met. Getting to the bottom of the state's disproportionately low payments to health care providers is also among his policy goals.

"Health care, as it relates to Medicaid reimbursements, we're 49th in the nation," Kalish said. "That doesn't make any sense – we're one of the largest economies in the country."

Kalish encouraged all residents of the district to contact him to share their priorities. He said he plans to hold meetings in the district every other Monday starting next month and would make himself available to discuss any concerns from constituents.

"I've only been exposed to such a small part of this district. I really want to know so much more. I want to know what's going on in Morton Grove, what's going on in Skokie," he said. "I want to know from the people, from the regular community activists. What's going on? How can the state help?"

The 16th District includes all of Chicago's 50th Ward, some of its 40th Ward and parts of Lincolnwood, Morton Grove and Skokie.

Earlier: Longtime Rep. Lou Lang Resigns To Become Partner In Lobbying Firm