Yehiel Mark Kalish

Yehiel Mark Kalish (born 1975/1976) is an American rabbi and politician who served as a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 16th district from 2019 to 2021. He was appointed to succeed Lou Lang who had resigned earlier in January. An ordained Orthodox rabbi, he is the only ordained rabbi to have served in the Illinois State Legislature.

Early life, education, and career Kalish was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Fasman Yeshiva High School. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in talmudic studies from Hebrew Theological College, and a Master of Public Administration from Walden University.

Kalish began his career in 2002 working at Agudath Israel of America as regional director for the Midwest and eventually becoming vice president and national director of government affairs.

Illinois House of Representatives Kalish was appointed to the Illinois House of Representatives in January 2019 to represent the 16th district after incumbent representative Lou Lang resigned to join the private sector. The 16th district consisted of the West Ridge neighborhood of Chicago and parts of the nearby suburbs of Morton Grove, Niles, Lincolnwood and Skokie. Lang, Jan Schakowsky, and Kelly Cassidy endorsed one of his opponents, Denyse Wang Stoneback, while speaker Mike Madigan, the AFL-CIO, and Chicago Tribune endorsed Kalish. His sister, Dafna Michaelson Jenet, previously served in both chambers of the Colorado General Assembly.