Ken Kramer, lawyer and politician, celebrates birthday milestone on February 19

Kenneth Bentley Kramer was born on February 19, 1942, in Chicago and raised in Skokie, Illinois. He pursued higher education at the University of Illinois before attending Harvard Law School. Kramer began his legal career in 1966 as an assistant district attorney. In 1972, he was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives, serving three terms. He then won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1978, where he served four terms until 1987. Kramer ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1986. After his congressional service, he returned to Colorado Springs to practice law. He later served as Assistant Secretary of the Army and as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, acting as chief judge from 2000 until his retirement in 2004. His upbringing in Skokie played a notable role in his background.