Schakowsky, Jan, 1944-

<p>Janice Danoff Schakowsky (/ʃəˈkaʊski/ shə-KOW-skee; born May 26, 1944) is an American politician who has served as the U.S. Representative from Illinois's 9th congressional district since 1999. She is a member of the Democratic Party.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>Schakowsky was born Janice Danoff in 1944 in Chicago, the daughter of Tillie (née Cosnow) and Irwin Danoff. Her parents were Jewish immigrants, her father a Lithuanian Jew and her mother from Russia.</p>

<p>Jan Schakowsky was elected to represent Illinois' 9th Congressional District in 1998, after serving for eight years in the Illinois State Assembly. She is in her twelfth term.</p>

<p>Schakowsky serves in the House Democratic Leadership as a Senior Chief Deputy Whip. She is a member of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, House Budget Committee, as well as the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where she serves as Chair of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee, and as a member of the Environment and Oversight & Investigations Subcommittees.</p>

<p>In 2010, Speaker Pelosi appointed Schakowsky to serve on President Obama's 18-member National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. She opposed the deficit reduction proposal presented by co-chairs Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson and offered her own approach, which reached the same fiscal goals without cutting Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. The Schakowsky plan addressed the real and growing problem of income disparity – which is at its greatest level since 1928 – and protects middle-class families.</p>

SCHAKOWSKY, Janice D., a Representative from Illinois; born in Chicago, Cook County, Ill., May 26, 1944; attended Sullivan High School, Chicago, Ill.; B.S., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Ill., 1965; director, Illinois State Council of Senior Citizens, 1985-1990; member of the Illinois state house of representatives, 1990-1998; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Sixth and to the eleven succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1999-present).