Jan Schakowsky

Janice Danoff Schakowsky /ʃəˈkaʊski/ (born May 26, 1944) is the U.S. Representative for Illinois's 9th congressional district, serving since 1999. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

Jan Schakowsky
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Illinois's 9th district
Assumed office
January 3, 1999
Preceded bySidney R. Yates
Personal details
Born
Janice Danoff

(1944-05-26) May 26, 1944
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)
Harvey Schakowsky
​
(
m. 1965; div. 1980)

​
(
m. 1980)
Children2 (with Schakowsky)
EducationUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (BS)
WebsiteHouse website

The district is anchored in Chicago's North Side, including much of the area bordering Lake Michigan. It also includes many of Chicago's northern suburbs, including Arlington Heights, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Mount Prospect, Niles, Park Ridge, Rosemont, Skokie, Wilmette, and Winnetka, as of the decennial redistricting following the 2010 United States Census.[1]

Early life, education and career

Schakowsky was born Janice Danoff in 1944 in Chicago, the daughter of Tillie (née Cosnow) and Irwin Danoff.[2] Her parents were Jewish immigrants, her father Lithuanian Jewish and her mother from Russia.[2][3]

Schakowsky graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.S. in elementary education where she was a member of Delta Phi Epsilon sorority.[4] She was Program Director of Illinois Public Action, Illinois' largest public interest group, from 1976 to 1985. She then moved to the Illinois State Council of Senior Citizens as executive director for five years until 1990, when she was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives. She served there until 1998.[5]

U.S. House of Representatives

Schakowsky is among the most Progressive members of the current U.S. Congress.[6] She is a senior member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and frequently earns ratings of between 90 and 100 from liberal and progressive interest groups.

Support for Obama economic plan

In April 2009, Schakowsky pointedly criticized the tax day Tea Party protests, asserting that they were ”an effort to mislead the public about the Obama economic plan that cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans and creates 3.5 million jobs…. It’s despicable that right-wing Republicans would attempt to cheapen a significant, honorable moment of American history with a shameful political stunt.”[7]

Women’s issues

As co-chair of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues, Schakowsky has been known for her support of women's issues while in Congress.[8]

2004 election

The Nation endorsed her for vice president in the 2004 United States presidential election, stating that she is "the truest heir to Paul Wellstone in the current Congress".[9] She was, however, not selected as John Kerry's running mate. In response to concerns about electoral irregularities in the state of Ohio during the 2004 presidential election, Schakowsky was one of 31 members of the United States House of Representatives who voted not to accept Ohio's electoral votes.[10]

Opposition to Iraq War

Schakowsky was outspoken in her opposition to the Iraq War. She was one of the earliest and most emphatic supporters of U.S. Senator Barack Obama prior to his victory in the 2004 Illinois Democratic primary election, and actively supported his bid for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.[11]

Climate change

In hearings held by the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee in July 2006, Schakowsky expressed concern that a report from the National Academy of Sciences showing discrepancies among scientists studying global warming might be "used in a way to discredit the whole notion that our country and the rest of the industrialized and developing world ought to do anything about global warming".[12]

Angling for elevation

Schakowsky indicated interest in replacing Barack Obama in the United States Senate.[13] Before his arrest, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich had reportedly been considering Schakowsky among at least six candidates to fill the vacancy. Schakowsky was one of the first figures in Illinois to voice interest in running in a special election to replace Obama.[14]

Support for public option

In April 2009, she stated her support for a public option in health insurance, arguing that it would put health insurance companies out of business and lead to single-payer health care, which she supports.[15]

Critique and apology for Joel Pollak

In March 2015, Schakowsky was criticized by the Orthodox Union after saying that Jewish politician Joel Pollak was a "Jewish, Orthodox, Tea Party Republican" at a J Street event. She later apologized for her comments.[16][17]

Support for LGBT rights

In 2015, Schakowsky was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame as a Friend of the Community.[18]

Boycott of Netanyahu's speech to Congress

In March 2015, Schakowsky did not attend the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress because, she wrote in the Huffington Post, it could scuttle delicate negotiations with Iran: "The prime minister wants the negotiations to end, and his purpose in speaking to the Congress is to convince us that the president is about to agree to a deal that threatens Israel's existence. He believes the president is naïve in thinking that he and the P5+1 can achieve any agreement that will stop Iran from rushing toward a bomb ... What is the alternative to an agreement? Yes, the United States will increase sanctions. But does anyone doubt that Iran will build a nuclear weapon regardless of sanctions? Then the choices will be ugly: accepting a nuclear-weaponized Iran or accepting military action (i.e., war with Iran). For me it's obvious that we must give the negotiations a chance. And, in the meantime, Iran has essentially halted its weapons program under the Joint Plan of Action while the talks are ongoing."[19]

Product safety issues

Schakowsky has long taken substantial interest in product safety issues and has persistently engaged in robust oversight of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. She has often been critical of Republicans on the commission.[20]

Committee assignments

Party leadership and caucus memberships

Political campaigns

1998

Sidney Yates, who had represented the 9th District since 1949 (except for an unsuccessful run for the Senate in 1962), had announced in 1996 that he wouldn't run for re-election in 1998. Schakowsky easily won the Democratic primary, which all but assured her of election in the heavily Democratic 9th. She beat out future-Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker in the primary, who finished in third place. She won in November with 75 percent of the vote and has easily won reelection four times with 70 percent or more of the vote. She is only the third person to represent the district since 1949.

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

Electoral history
Illinois 9th Congressional District Democratic Primary, 1998[26]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Janice D. (Jan) Schakowsky 31,443 45.14
Democratic Howard W. Carroll 23,963 34.40
Democratic Jay "J.B." Pritzker 14,256 20.46
Total votes 69,662 100.0
Illinois 9th Congressional District General Election, 1998[27]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Janice D. (Jan) Schakowsky 107,878 74.60
Republican Herbert Sohn 33,448 23.13
Libertarian Michael D. Ray 3,284 2.27
Total votes 144,610 100.0
Illinois 9th Congressional District General Election, 2000[28]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jan Schakowsky (incumbent) 147,002 76.43
Republican Dennis J. Driscoll 45,344 23.57
Total votes 192,346 100.0
Illinois 9th Congressional District General Election, 2002[29]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Janice D. Schakowsky (incumbent) 118,642 70.27
Republican Nicholas M. Duric 45,307 26.83
Libertarian Stephanie "Vs. The Machine" Sailor 4,887 2.89
Total votes 168,836 100.0
Illinois 9th Congressional District General Election, 2004[30]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Janice D. Schakowsky (incumbent) 175,282 75.74
Republican Kurt J. Eckhardt 56,135 24.26
Total votes 231,417 100.0
Illinois 9th Congressional District General Election, 2006[31]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Janice D. Schakowsky (incumbent) 122,852 74.59
Republican Michael P. Shannon 41,858 25.41
Write-in votes Simon Michael Ribeiro 3 0.00
Total votes 164,713 100.0
Illinois 9th Congressional District Democratic Primary, 2008[32]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Janice D. Schakowsky (incumbent) 98,374 87.66
Democratic John Nocita 13,485 12.02
Total votes 112,219 100.0
Illinois 9th Congressional District General Election, 2008[33]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Janice D. Schakowsky (incumbent) 181,948 74.66
Republican Michael Benjamin Younan 53,593 21.99
Green Morris Shanfield 8,140 3.34
Write-in votes Susanne Atanus 13 0.01
Total votes 243,694 100.0
Illinois 9th Congressional District General Election, 2010[34]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Janice D. Schakowsky (incumbent) 117,553 66.34
Republican Joel Barry Pollak 55,182 31.14
Green Simon Ribeiro 4,472 2.52
Total votes 177,207 100.0
Illinois 9th Congressional District Democratic Primary, 2012[35]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Janice D. Schakowsky (incumbent) 48,124 91.85
Democratic Simon Ribeiro 4,270 8.15
Total votes 52,394 100.0
Illinois 9th Congressional District General Election, 2012[36]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Janice D. Schakowsky (incumbent) 194,869 66.33
Republican Timothy C Wolfe 98,924 33.67
Write-in votes Hilaire Fuji Shioura 8 0.00
Write-in votes Susanne Atanus 6 0.00
Total votes 293,807 100.0
Illinois 9th Congressional District General Election, 2014[37]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Janice D. Schakowsky (incumbent) 141,000 66.06
Republican Susanne Atanus 72,834 33.91
Write-in votes Phil Collins 66 0.03
Total votes 213,450 100.0
Illinois 9th Congressional District General Election, 2016[38]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Janice D. Schakowsky (incumbent) 217,306 66.47
Republican Joan McCarthy Lasonde 109,550 33.51
Write-in votes David Williams 79 0.02
Write-in votes Susanne Atanus 13 0.00
Total votes 326,948 100.0
Illinois 9th Congressional District General Election, 2018[39]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Janice D. Schakowsky (incumbent) 213,368 73.49
Republican John D. Elleson 76,983 26.51
Total votes 290,351 100.0

Personal life

Schakowsky lives in Evanston, Illinois with her husband Robert Creamer. She has two children and one stepchild.[40]

In 2005, Schakowsky's husband pleaded guilty to failure to collect withholding tax and to bank fraud for writing checks with insufficient funds. All of the money was repaid. Schakowsky was not accused of any wrongdoing.[41] While Schakowsky served on the organization's board during the time the crimes occurred,[42] and she signed the IRS filings along with her husband,[43] the U.S. district judge noted that no one suffered "out of pocket losses", and Creamer acted not out of greed but in an effort to keep his community action group going without cutting programs, though Creamer paid his own $100,000 salary with fraudulently obtained funds. Creamer served five months in prison. "Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Ferguson said the government doesn't believe Creamer "acknowledged the seriousness of his conduct." "At the end of the day," Ferguson said, "Robert Creamer is guilty of multiple crimes and is going to jail for it." [44]

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See also

References
  1. "PA 97-0006 Legislative District 8" (PDF). May 18, 2011. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  2. Stone, K.F. (2010). The Jews of Capitol Hill: A Compendium of Jewish Congressional Members. Scarecrow Press. p. 549. ISBN 9780810877382. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  3. "Glenn Beck Slammed By Polish Group For Butchering Schakowsky's Name". The Huffington Post. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  4. "Delta Phi Epsilon International Sorority". DPhiE.org. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  5. Wasniewski, Matthew Andrew (2006). Women in Congress, 1917-2006. Government Printing Office. p. 908. ISBN 978-0-16-076753-1. Illinois State Council of Senior Citizens schakowsky.
  6. "GovTrack: The Political Spectrum". Govtrack.us. October 17, 2009. Archived from the original on March 18, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
  7. Zimmerman, Eric (April 16, 2009). "Schakowsky: Tea parties 'despicable'", TheHill.com; accessed October 22, 2016.
  8. Rettig, Jessica (July 9, 2010). "Jan Schakowsky Leads the Fight for Women". US News and World Report.
  9. "The Beat". The Nation. Abu Dhabi. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
  10. "FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 7". Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  11. "Obama's Day in Iowa", by Matthew Rothschild, The Progressive, January 4, 2008.
  12. "Science In the House of Pain". TCS Daily. Archived from the original on March 13, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
  13. "Schakowsky among those wanting Senate seat". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. November 5, 2008. Retrieved November 11, 2008.
  14. Schakowsky throws her hat in Archived July 14, 2012, at Archive.today, Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), December 12, 2008.
  15. Post-gazette.com, The health-care shuffle, Jack Kelly, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 16, 2009
  16. "Congresswoman Apologizes Referring to Political Rival as 'Orthodox Jew'". The Jewish Daily Forward. March 24, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  17. Yashar, Ari (March 24, 2015). "Democrat Apologizes for 'Orthodox Jew' Slur at J Street Event". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  18. "Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame". Glhalloffame.org. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  19. Schakowsky, Jan (February 26, 2015). "An Israel Supporter Who Won't Be at the Prime Minister's Speech". Huffington Post. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  20. "Lawmakers question industry influence at U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission". Salon. April 5, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  21. "Caucus Members". Congressional Progressive Caucus. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  22. "Membership". Congressional Arts Caucus. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  23. "Members". Afterschool Alliance. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  24. "Members". Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  25. "90 Current Climate Solutions Caucus Members". Citizen´s Climate Lobby. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  26. "Election Results 1998 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  27. "Election Results 1998 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  28. "Election Results 2000 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  29. "Election Results 2002 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  30. "Election Results 2004 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  31. "Election Results 2006 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  32. "Election Results 2008 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  33. "Election Results 2008 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  34. "Election Results 2010 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  35. "Election Results 2012 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  36. "Election Results 2012 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  37. "Election Results 2014 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  38. "Election Results 2016 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  39. "Election Results 2018 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  40. "About Jan". Schakosky.house.gov. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  41. "Congresswoman's husband pleads guilty to two felonies". USA Today. Associated Press. August 31, 2005. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
  42. Flannery, Mike (April 5, 2006). "Congresswoman's Husband Gets Jail Time For Bank Fraud". WBBM TV.
  43. Newbart, Dave (March 12, 2004). "Schakowsky's husband indicted in bank fraud". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
  44. Korecki, Natasha (April 6, 2006). "Schakowsky's husband given 5 months for check-kiting: Prosecutors sought 3 years for bank fraud that aided nonprofit". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Sidney Yates		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Illinois's 9th congressional district
1999–present		 Incumbent
Preceded by
Lois Capps		 Chair of the Congressional Women's Caucus
2009–2011		 Succeeded by
Cynthia Lummis
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Grace Napolitano		 United States Representatives by seniority
58th		 Succeeded by
Mike Simpson
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