About Kurt

Rooted in the Community:

Kurt was born to Kurt F. and Janet Kojzarek on the southside of Chicago in 1979. When he was still in elementary school, his father moved the family to Elgin after accepting a position with Seigles Home and Building Center, a company in which several members of Kurt's family eventually worked, including Kurt himself.

In Elgin, Kurt and his younger siblings, Kevin and Kara attended St. Thomas More parochial school, and later Larkin High School. He went on to receive his Associates Degree from Elgin Community College in 1999, before receiving his Bachelors of Art from the University of Illinois in 2001.

After graduating on the Deans list from the U of I, Kurt returned to Elgin where he worked for the Illinois General Assembly as a Policy Analyst. In 2010, Kurt married his lovely wife Elissa. On December 13, 2011, Kurt and Elissa welcomed their son, Robbie into the world.

The Kojzarek Family are members of Epworth United Methodist Church and St. Thomas More Catholic Church. They are active volunteers for several charitable organizations throughout the area.

After leaving the Illinois General Assembly policy staff, Kurt worked as the Government Affairs Director for an attainable housing not for profit, working with local governmental entities to reduce artificial barriers to affordable housing throughout Northern Illinois. He coordinated efforts between local builders and Elgin code officials to find ways to reduce housing costs throughout Elgin far west corridor.

In 2008, Kurt joined the Home Builders Association of Greater Chicago as the Executive Director and coordinated the restructuring of one of the nation's oldest home builder organizations. In 2009, Kurt left the employ of HBAGC to become the Director of Operations for Property Specialists, Inc. He has since been promoted to Vice President of Marketing. He currently manages over 1,000 homes with annual budgets of over one million dollars. He is a member of HBAGC serving in the leadership of the Young Builders Council, as well as the Community Association Institute.

Commitment to Public Service:

While attending ECC, Kurt was elected Student Body President during his sophomore year. He went on to be elected as the statewide chair for the Community College Sector of the Illinois Board of Higher Education SAC the same year. It was during his time at ECC that Kurt first ran for political office, attempting to become the youngest College Trustee in Illinois. While unsuccessful, Kurt was encouraged by the high number of students at ECC who registered to vote and participated in the election.

During his time at the U of I, Kurt interned in the office of IL Lt. Governor Corinne Wood, serving as assistant to the downstate press secretary. Following graduation, he gained employment with the Illinois House of Representatives, serving as a policy analyst for former Representatives Douglas Hoeft, Ruth Munson, now State Senator John Millner and current Minority Assistant Leader Tim Schmitz.

In 2005, Kurt ran for and was elected Trustee of the Elgin Township. He served in this office until December of 2008, when then Township Clerk Hal Bowen resigned from office and retired from public service. His fellow Board members appointed him to serve the balance of Bowen's term. In 2009 Kurt ran for a full term and received the second highest number of votes next to longtime Highway Commissioner Rick Burnidge. He easily defeated his challenger for election to a full term.

From 2008 to 2011 Kurt served as the Kane County representative to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning Citizen Advisory Council, offering perspective on the GoTo2040 plan regulating future growth in our region for the next 30 years. He successfully fought attempts by the agency to supercede local authority in the controversial Development of Regional Importance (DRI) portion of the document.

Kurt is an active member and supporter of the Republican Party. He is currently the Precinct Committeeman for Elgin Township 37, and a two time Vice-Chairman for the organization. In 2003, he formed and served as President of the Kane County Young Republicans. Along with Senator Chris Lauzen, Kurt served as Kane County co-Chair for Bill Brady's 2010 gubernatorial campaign.

Outside of politics, Kurt is an avid sports fan. He is a diehard White Sox and Bears fan, rarely missing a game. He enjoys hunting, fishing and camping in his spare time.