Bob Ilko Candidate San Diego City Council - 5th District

Get to Know Bob

Biography of Candidate Bob Ilko

Born January 21, 1964, in San Diego, Bob Ilko is the son of Robert Ilko, a retired Medical Doctor and Marie Ilko, a retired Registered Nurse.  One of four children, Bob grew up in a family-oriented home and attended grade school with his brother and two sisters at Grant Elementary and later, Francis W. Parker School.

Bob played Presidio Little League

Bob’s older brother is now a Medical Doctor in Minnesota and his younger sister is a school teacher in San Diego. Tragically, Bob's older sister was killed by a drunk driver in 1986.  In high school, Bob was a varsity athlete for four years in soccer as well as contributing one year of cross country and varsity baseball. Bob also developed an affinity for photography which he applied to the school yearbook as its editor in his senior year.

Upon graduation from high school, Bob was accepted to the University of Colorado at Boulder where he completed two years of undergraduate study before transferring to San Diego State University. While transferring to SDSU, Bob worked for a longtime wholesale carpet and furniture business in the East Village of downtown San Diego. In his senior year, Bob met his wife-to-be, Janet.

After graduating with a degree in Economics and Janet with a teaching degree, they were married in June 1989.  Bob and Janet have two active high-school age children, Alicia and Steven.

Steven, Bob, Janet, Alicia

After college, Bob went to work for nearly a decade for a San Diego-based civil engineering firm where he managed a construction company subsidiary. While working there, Bob gained the experience needed to become qualified as a general engineering contractor. To expand his abilities, Bob earned a law degree and was admitted to practice law in both California and the Federal District Court. Bob worked for two years in the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office in the Bureau of Child Support Enforcement. Bob then moved into a San Diego private law firm for five years where he focused on construction, real estate, and landlord-tenant practice areas. 

Bob SDPD Officer

To revive his passion for helping others, Bob, at 42 years old, was hired by City of San Diego Police Department where he completed the police academy and became a police officer. Currently, Bob has opened his own law firm in San Diego.

For the past sixteen years, while raising his two children, Bob has given thousands of hours of his time to community organizations and projects.  Besides coaching baseball and soccer in addition to being a community board member, Bob was an active board member for a public high school foundation, a middle school PTSA, and community-wide schools committee. Bob has served for over 12 years as an elected district representative for a volunteer community town council and for several years as chair of a city planning group.

Whenever something needs to be done, Bob has heeded the call to action. Whether it is painting over graffiti, cleaning out drainage ditches in the rain for disabled homeowners, answering code compliance complaints, arranging a 4th of July Parade, putting up traffic cones on Halloween, or even spearheading the Cedar Fire recovery as a result of the largest fire in California’s history, Bob has turned concepts into action by working through problems until they have been resolved. 

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In honor of being named SRCA Citizen of the Year, City Councilmember Brian Maienschein presents Bob Ilko the City of San Diego Proclamation declaring December 12, 2002, as "Bob Ilko Day".

Bob Ilko - Citizen of the Year 2002


The list of Bob's accomplishments is extensive. His accomplishments are emblematic of Bob's dedication to improving the quality of life for the community as a whole.

Bob Ilko is uniquely qualified to be the 5th District’s next council representative because he combines his professional skills with years of dedicated community service to enact real results that have improved the quality of life in our neighborhoods. 

Bob Ilko and his son Steven enjoying a responsible weekend in their '67 Jeep on a Jeep Jamboree in 2007.

Bob & Steven Ilko - 67 Jeep 

Paid For By "Friends of Bob Ilko" ID NO. 1299411
10755-F Scripps Poway Parkway, Ste. 142; SD, CA 92131