Sen. Kirk expected to return to Senate in January

Two days before the Nov. 6, U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) made a surprising accomplishment. Wearing a brace on his left leg, he climbed the steps of the Willis Tower — 37 floors, from the 66th floor to the 103rd — during the Rehab Institute of Chicago’s annual stair climb.

Now, as the one-year anniversary of his major stroke inches closer, a bigger question remains: will the junior senator from