Janice D. Schakowsky
DemocratU.S. Representative, IL-9| Age | 82 (b. 1944-05-26) |
| Gender | Female |
| In office since | 1999-01-06 (~27 yrs) |
| Race / ethnicity | White; Ashkenazi Jewish (father Lithuanian Jewish, mother of Russian descent) |
| Religion | Jewish; also a member of the Congressional Freethought Caucus |
| Education | B.S. in elementary education, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1965) |
| Prior occupation | Consumer advocate and nonprofit organizer; program director of Illinois Public Action (1976-1985) and executive director of the Illinois State Council of Senior Citizens (1985-1990) |
| Military service | No |
| Birthplace | Chicago, Illinois |
| Marital status | Married — Robert Creamer (m. 1980); previously Harvey Schakowsky (m. 1965; div. 1980) |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence | Evanston, Illinois |
| Notable relatives | Husband Robert Creamer, a political consultant who pleaded guilty in 2005 to bank fraud and failure to pay withholding tax; transgender grandson Isaac (publicly discussed by Schakowsky) |
Pending research: languages · openly lgbtq.
Career & politics
| First elected | 1998 |
| Previous offices | Illinois House of Representatives (1991-1999), 4th district then 18th district; first elected 1990 |
| Committees | House Committee on Energy and Commerce (Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade; member, Subcommittee on Environment) |
| Caucuses | Congressional Progressive Caucus (Vice Chair) · Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues (Co-chair) · Out-of-Iraq Caucus (founding member) · Medicare for All Caucus · Congressional Freethought Caucus |
| Leadership | Senior Chief Deputy Whip, House Democratic Caucus (since 2019) · Vice Chair, Congressional Progressive Caucus · Former Chair, Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce (116th Congress) |
| Ideology | Consistently rated among the most progressive/liberal members of the House; identified as among the most progressive members of the 111th Congress. Lifetime Heritage Action scorecard near 0%. |
| Signature legislation | Co-sponsor of the SAFE Act (horse slaughter export ban, 2013) · Advocate for a public option and single-payer/Medicare for All healthcare · Voted for the Equality Act (2021) |
Financial
Net worth: disclosed $200,000–$600,000 (2018) · estimate
| Bright Directions (529 college savings plan) | fund · $100,001–$250,000 · 2018 |
| American Funds Growth Fund of America | fund · $50,001–$100,000 · 2018 |
Scandals & crimes ledger
No recorded incidents. Under the adjudicated-only methodology, an entry appears only when a court or official body has formally acted and the record is cited.