Jan Schakowsky

In 1990, Schakowsky was elected to serve in the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the fourth district. She was redistricted in 1992 to the eighteenth district.

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 then-Illinois State Senator Howard W. Carroll and future-Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker in the primary (who finished second and third, respectively). She won in November with 75 percent of the vote and has been reelected 12 more times with no substantive opposition, including four times with 70 percent or more of the vote. She is only the third person to represent the district since 1949.

Schakowsky is among the most Progressive members of the current U.S. Congress.[8] 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.

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.

Schakowsky was one of thirty-one House Democrats who voted to not count the 20 electoral votes from Ohio in the 2004 presidential election.[10] President George W. Bush won Ohio by 118,457 votes.[11] Without Ohio's electoral votes, the election would have been decided by the U.S. House of Representatives, with each state having one vote in accordance with the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

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.”[12]

Schakowsky with Kamala Harris

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.[13]

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.[14]

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".[15]

Schakowsky indicated interest in replacing Barack Obama in the United States Senate.[16] 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.[17]

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.[18]

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.[19][20]

In 2015, Schakowsky was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame as a Friend of the Community.[21]

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."[22]

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.[23]

Schakowsky has been a proponent of numerous initiatives pertaining to ethnic Assyrians.[24] According to Assyrian American activist Atour Sargon, Schakowsky was an early supporter of her ideas and encouraged her to pursue a political career as early as 2017. She claimed that Schakowsky would later assist her during her successful 2019 Trustee campaign in Lincolnwood, Illinois.[25][26]

During the 2017 confirmation hearings of then-Secretary of State appointee Rex Tillerson, Schakowsky criticized his support of policies that she alleged were detrimental towards the future of Assyrian existence in Iraq.[27][28][29][30]

Schakowsky was a speaker at the 2018[31] and 2020 Democratic Candidates’ Forum organized by Vote Assyrian. At the 2020 forum, Schakowsky referred to Assyrians as, "one of the fastest growing communities in terms of political involvement."[24]

On August 7, 2020, Schakowsky released a statement recognizing the anniversary of the 1933 Simele Massacre.[32][33] She is also a proponent of House Resolution 537, which would have the federal government officially recgonize the Assyrian genocide if passed.[26]

Throughout her congressional tenure, Schakowsky has also supported and co-sponsored several bills that, if passed, would extend U.S. support for Assyrian self-governance in Iraq, particularly in the Nineveh Plains region.[34][35]

On October 1, 2020, Schakowsky co-signed a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that condemned Azerbaijan’s offensive operations against the Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, denounced Turkey’s role in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and called for an immediate ceasefire.[36]

• Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Subcommittee on Consumer Protection & Commerce (Chair)
  • Subcommittee on Environment & Climate Change
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
• Committee on the Budget

Schakowsky with Elizabeth Warren

• Chief Deputy Whip
• Steering and Policy Committee
• Founding member of the Out-of-Iraq Caucus
• Democratic Vice Chair of the bipartisan Women's Caucus
• Vice Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus[37]
• Congressional Arts Caucus[38]
• Afterschool Caucuses[39]
• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus[40]
• Climate Solutions Caucus[41]
• Medicare for All Caucus
• Blue Collar Caucus

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