Called the “Conscience of the Pennsylvania Legislature,” a "Hero for Government Reform," and voted the "Biggest Credit to the Senate" during his time in office, Allen G. Kukovich served for twenty-seven years in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, earning a reputation as an honest, hardworking champion for those who needed a voice in the halls of power.

His legislation creating the Children's Health Insurance Program provided millions of children with health care and served as a model for the nation. His mortgage foreclosure bill helped save the homes of thousands of laid-off steelworkers. And his efforts to increase funding for independent living, mental health services, and food banks earned him statewide and national acclaim. A tireless reformer, Kukovich tried for decades to pass campaign finance laws, enact criminal justice reform, and abolish the death penalty. 

Kukovich was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1977 until 1996, when he won a seat in the Pennsylvania Senate, where he served until 2004. In both chambers, he represented Westmoreland County, where he was born and raised. He was a candidate for lieutenant governor in 2002, and was Chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party from 2002 through 2003.

Kukovich helped found the Pennsylvania chapter of Common Cause and was an executive board member of the national organization Americans for Democratic Action. Born 1947 in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Kukovich graduated from Kent State University in 1969, with a political science degree, and from Duquesne University School of Law in 1973. He worked several years in private practice in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, before running for office. He served in the Pennsylvania National Guard from 1970 to 1976.