Jan Schakowsky

Sidney Yates, who had represented the 9th district since 1949 (except for an unsuccessful run for the Senate in 1962), announced in 1996 that he would not seek reelection in 1998.[8] 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% of the vote and was reelected 12 times.

Schakowsky is among the most progressive members of the current U.S. Congress.[9] She is an executive board member at large of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.[10]

The Nation endorsed Schakowsky for vice president in the 2004 United States presidential election, writing that she was "the truest heir to Paul Wellstone in the current Congress".[11] She was not selected as John Kerry's running mate.

Schakowsky was one of 31 House Democrats who voted to not count Ohio's 20 electoral votes in the 2004 presidential election.[12] President George W. Bush won Ohio by 118,457 votes.[13] Without Ohio's electoral votes, the election would have been decided by the 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: "It's despicable that right-wing Republicans would attempt to cheapen a significant, honorable moment of American history with a shameful political stunt."[14]

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.[15]

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 before he won the 2004 Illinois Democratic primary election, and actively supported his bid for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.[16] On February 7, 2007, she introduced the Iraq and Afghanistan Contractor Sunshine Act (H.R. 897) in the House of Representatives, seeking information from leading federal agencies on their contracts for work in Iraq and Afghanistan.[17] The bill was not enacted.

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".[18]

Schakowsky indicated interest in replacing Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate.[19] Before his arrest, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich had reportedly been considering her among at least six other 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.[20]

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.[21]

In March 2015, the Orthodox Union criticized Schakowsky after she said that Jewish politician Joel Pollak was a "Jewish, Orthodox, Tea Party Republican" at a J Street event. She later apologized for her comments.[22][23]

In 2015, Schakowsky was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame as a Friend of the Community.[24] In February 2021, she voted for the Equality Act on behalf of her transgender grandson Isaac.[25]

In March 2015, Schakowsky did not attend 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."[26]

Schakowsky during the 113th Congress

Schakowsky has long taken substantial interest in product safety issues and persistently engaged in robust oversight of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. She has often been critical of Republicans on the commission.[27]

Schakowsky has been a proponent of numerous initiatives pertaining to ethnic Assyrians.[28] 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 assisted her during her successful 2019 Trustee campaign in Lincolnwood, Illinois.[29][30]

During the 2017 confirmation hearings of then-Secretary of State appointee Rex Tillerson, Schakowsky criticized his support of policies that she alleged were detrimental to the future of Assyrian existence in Iraq.[31][32][33][34]

Schakowsky spoke at the 2018[35] and 2020 Democratic Candidates' Forums organized by Vote Assyrian. At the 2020 forum, she called Assyrians "one of the fastest-growing communities in terms of political involvement".[28]

On August 7, 2020, Schakowsky released a statement recognizing the anniversary of the 1933 Simele massacre.[36][37] She is also a proponent of House Resolution 537, which would have the federal government officially recognize the Assyrian genocide if passed.[30]

Throughout her congressional tenure, Schakowsky has supported and co-sponsored bills that would extend U.S. support for Assyrian self-governance in Iraq, particularly in the Nineveh Plains region.[38][39]

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.[40]

In 2023, Schakowsky was among 56 Democrats to vote in favor of H.Con.Res. 21 which directed President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.[41][42]

Schakowsky was among the 46 Democrats who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.[43]

In January 2023, Schakowsky was one of 13 cosponsors of an amendment to the Constitution of the United States extending the right to vote to citizens 16 years of age or older.[44]

For the 118th Congress:[45]

• Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security
  • Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
• Committee on the Budget

• 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[46]
• Congressional Arts Caucus[47]
• Afterschool Caucuses[48]
• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus[49]
• Climate Solutions Caucus[50]
• Medicare for All Caucus
• Blue Collar Caucus
• Congressional Freethought Caucus

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