Yehiel Mark Kalish

Yehiel Mark Kalish was a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 16th district. The 16th district, located in the Chicago area, consists of the West Ridge neighborhood in the City of Chicago and parts of the nearby suburbs of Morton Grove, Niles, Lincolnwood and Skokie. He was appointed to succeed Lou Lang who had resigned earlier in January. Kalish is an ordained Orthodox rabbi. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Hebrew Theological College and a Master of Public Administration from Walden University.

He is the only rabbi to have served in the Illinois state legislature, and was also a cantor for Congregation Shaarei Tzedek Mishkan Yair in Chicago. He is the brother of Dafna Michaelson Jenet, member of the Colorado House of Representative in Denver.

On December 21, 2020, shortly after losing his election to continue serving in the House, it was reported by Politico that Kalish had been hired as CEO of Chevra Hatzalah, the largest hatzalah organization in the United States.