Kinzinger, Adam, 1978-

Adam Daniel Kinzinger (/ˈkɪnzɪŋər/; born February 27, 1978) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Illinois's 16th congressional district. The district covers eastern Rockford, most of Rockford's suburbs, and a swath of exurban territory around Chicago. He is a member of the Republican Party. He is also a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard.

Kinzinger was first elected to Congress in 2010 from the 11th district. His district was largely merged with the 16th after the 2010 census, and Kinzinger transferred to the 16th after defeating its incumbent, Don Manzullo, in the Republican primary.

After Republican President Donald Trump was defeated in the 2020 presidential election, Kinzinger became known for his vocal opposition to Trump's claims of voter fraud and attempts to overturn the results. Kinzinger was one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for incitement of insurrection in his second impeachment, and was one of only two Republicans to vote to create a select committee to investigate the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, to which he was subsequently appointed.

On October 29, 2021, Kinzinger announced that he will not seek reelection to Congress in 2022.

Adam Kinzinger was born on February 27, 1978, in Kankakee, Illinois, the son of Betty Jo, an elementary school teacher, and Rus Kinzinger, a CEO of faith-based organizations. After spending part of his youth in Jacksonville, Florida, he was primarily raised in Bloomington, Illinois. He graduated from Normal Community West High School in 1996 and earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Illinois State University in 2000.

In 1998, while a student at Illinois State, Kinzinger ran for election as a county board member in McLean County. He won, at age 20, and was one of the youngest serving county board members in McLean County history, defeating an incumbent county board member. Kinzinger remained on the board until his resignation in 2003.

Kinzinger worked as an intern for former U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald shortly after his graduation from Illinois State, as part of a program offered there.

Kinzinger resigned from the McLean County Board in 2003 to join the United States Air Force. He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in November 2003 and later awarded his pilot wings. Kinzinger was initially a KC-135 Stratotanker pilot and flew missions in South America, Guam, Iraq and Afghanistan. He later switched to flying the RC-26 surveillance aircraft and was stationed in Iraq twice.

Kinzinger has served in the Air Force Special Operations Command, Air Combat Command, Air Mobility Command, and Wisconsin Air National Guard and was progressively promoted to his current rank of Lieutenant Colonel. As part of his continued service with the Air National Guard, Kinzinger was deployed to the Mexico–United States border in February 2019 as part of efforts to maintain border security.