Mark A. Luft is an American politician who served as the mayor of

Pekin, Illinois Pekin ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tazewell County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located on the Illinois River, Pekin is the largest city of Tazewell County and the second most populous municipality of the Peoria metropolitan area ...

and as a Republican member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

from the 91st district. The 91st district, located in the

Peoria metropolitan area The Peoria Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of six counties in Central Illinois, anchored by the city of Peoria. As of the 2020 census, the area had a population of 402,391 or 3 ...

, included all or parts of

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, Bartonville, Bryant,

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, Creve Coeur,

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...

East Peoria East Peoria is a city in Tazewell County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,484 at the 2020 census. East Peoria is part of the Peoria metropolitan area, located across the Illinois River from downtown Peoria. It is home to many Cate ...

, Fairview, Farmington, Glasford, Hanna City, Kingston Mines, Lake Camelot, Lewistown,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, Mapleton, Marquette Heights, Morton, Norris, North Pekin, Norwood, Pekin, South Pekin, and

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Early life, education, and career

Luft was born in

. He "graduated from Pekin Community High School and attended

Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University (EIU) is a public university in Charleston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradual ...

." He worked for the Illinois American Water Company for 26 years. He served in the

United States Army Reserves The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. History Origi ...

from 1987 to 1994. He previously "served as President and Chairman of the Board of the Pekin JFL."

Local politics

In 2015, Luft was elected to the Pekin City Council. In 2019, he successfully defeated incumbent Mayor John McCabe. In 2022, he announced he would not run for a second term as mayor and endorsed former Tazewell County Treasurer Mary Burress for the position. Luft ultimately stepped down in January 2023. In the April 2023 election, Burress defeated two members of the Pekin City Council to become the Mayor and took office in May 2023.

State politics

In November 2019, Luft decided to run to succeed retiring Republican incumbent Michael D. Unes in the 91st district. Luft was originally going to face two primary candidates, Sam Goddard and Corey Campbell, before they were removed by the

Illinois State Board of Elections The State Board of Elections (SBE) is an independent agency of the U.S. state of Illinois. The SBE, as an acronym, refers both to the eight-member bipartisan board of directors and to the agency that it oversees. The members of the SBE, who are ...

from the ballot failing to meet the minimum number of required signatures on their nominating petitions. After winning his primary, Luft would win in the 91st district general election with a 26% vote margin. In the 2021 decennial reapportionment, Luft was drawn into the new 93rd district. On June 28, 2022, Travis Weaver, son of former Senator Chuck Weaver, defeated Luft for the Republican nomination in the newly drawn 93rd district. While a legislator, Luft was a member of the following Illinois House committees: * Appropriations - General Service Committee (HAPG) * Cities & Villages Committee (HCIV) * Economic Opportunity & Equity Committee (HECO) * Housing Committee (SHOU) * Property Tax Subcommittee (HREF-PRTX) * Public Utilities Committee (HPUB) * Revenue & Finance Committee (HREF) * Water Subcommittee (HPUB-WATR)

Electoral history

Personal life

Luft currently resides in

with his wife Lelonie. They have five children.

References

External links

Representative Mark Luft (R)
at the

Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in ...

Constituent Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luft, Mark Living people Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century members of the Illinois General Assembly