Mark A. Luft is a Republican member of the

Illinois House 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 current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 repr ...

from the 91st district since January 13, 2021 and the mayor of Pekin since April 2019. 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, Central Illinois, anchored by the city of Peoria, Illinois, Peoria. As of the United States Census ...

, includes all or parts of

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, Bartonville,

Bryant Bryant may refer to: Organizations * Bryant Bank, a bank in Alabama, United States * Bryant Electric Company, an American manufacturer of electrical components * Bryant Homes, a British house builder, part of Taylor Woodrow * Bryant University ...

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

, Creve Coeur,

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Dunfermline Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Accord ...

East Peoria East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

, Fairview, Farmington, Glasford, Hanna City,

Kingston Mines Kingston Mines is a village in Peoria County, Illinois, United States. The population was 259 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. Located on the Illinois River, it was a shipping port, loading co ...

, Lake Camelot, Lewistown,

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, Mapleton, Marquette Heights,

Morton Morton may refer to: People * Morton (surname) * Morton (given name) Fictional * Morton Koopa, Jr., a character and boss in ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' * A character in the ''Charlie and Lola'' franchise * A character in the 2008 film '' Horton ...

, Norris, North Pekin, Norwood, Pekin,

South Pekin South Pekin is a village in Tazewell County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,146 at the 2010 census and is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. History South Pekin was incorporated on April 12, 1917, five mi ...

, and

St. David Saint David ( cy, Dewi Sant; la, Davidus; ) was a Welsh bishop of Mynyw (now St Davids) during the 6th century. He is the patron saint of Wales. David was a native of Wales, and tradition has preserved a relatively large amount of detail ab ...

. Luft was elected to the district to succeed retiring Republican Michael D. Unes.

Early life, education, and career

Luft was born in Pekin, Illinois. He "graduated from Pekin Community High School and attended

Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...

." He worked for the Illinois American Water Company for 26 years. He served in the United States Army Reserves from 1987 to 1994. He previously "served as President and Chairman of the Board of the Pekin JFL."

Political career

In 2015, Luft was elected to the Pekin City Council. In 2019, he successfully defeated incumbent Mayor John McCabe. As early as November 2019, Luft was circulating petitions to run for the open Illinois 91st State House district seat after incumbent Michael D. Unes decided to not run. Luft was originally going to face two primary candidates, Sam Goddard and Corey Campbell, before they were removed from the ballot for "insufficient signatures on their nominating petitions" by the Illinois State Board of Elections. After winning his primary, Luft would win in the 91st district general election with a 26% vote margin. On June 28, 2022, Travis Weaver, son of former Senator

Chuck Weaver Chuck Weaver is a former Republican member of the Illinois Senate for the 37th Senate District. He was appointed in October 2015. The district he represented included all or parts of Mercer, Lee, Bureau, Henry, Knox, Stark, Peoria, Woodford ...

, defeated Luft for the Republican nomination in the newly drawn 93rd district. As of July 3, 2022, Representative Luft is 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) Mark Luft lost the 2022 Republican primary to

Travis Weaver Travis may refer to: People and fictional characters *Travis (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Travis (surname), a list of people Places in the United States *Travis, Staten Island, a neighborhood *Travis Air Force Base, a ...

, the son of former Senator

Electoral history

Personal life

Luft currently resides in Pekin, Illinois 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 181 ...

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