John E Porter

A Representative from Illinois; born in Evanston, Cook County, Ill., June 1, 1935; attended the public schools and graduated from Evanston Township High School, 1953; attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass., 1953-1954; B.S. and B.A., Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., 1957; J.D., University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor, Mich., 1961; served in United States Army Reserves, 1958-1964; was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1961; honor law graduate attorney, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., 1961-1963; private practice, Evanston, Ill., 1963-1979; delegate to the Republican National Convention, 1996; member, Illinois general assembly, 1973-1979; unsuccessful candidate for election to the Ninety-sixth Congress in 1978; elected as a Republican to the Ninety-sixth Congress by special election, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of United States Representative Abner J. Mikva, and reelected to the ten succeeding Congresses (January 22, 1980-January 3, 2001); was not a candidate for reelection to the One Hundred Seventh Congress in 2000. John previously served 21 years as a U.S. Congressman from the 10th District in Illinois, where he served on the Appropriations Committee, and as Chair of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. Under the jurisdiction of his subcommittee were all of the health agencies and programs, except military and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and all of the education agencies and programs of the federal government. He also served as Vice Chair of the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations and Vice Chair of the Subcommittee on Military Construction. Before his election to Congress, John served in the Illinois House of Representatives and prior to that as an honor law graduate attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice in the Kennedy Administration. He was founder and Co-chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, a voluntary association of more than 250 members of Congress working to identify, monitor, and end human rights violations worldwide. John authored the legislation creating Radio Free Asia and served as Chair of the Global Legislators Organized for a Balanced Environment (GLOBE USA).