Longtime Democratic Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky on Monday told friends and supporters at her annual Chicago luncheon that she will not be seeking reelection, setting up a competitive race for the seat she’s held since 1999.
Schakowsky’s announcement, which was anticipated, puts into place yet another game of political musical chairs in the state, along with the race to replace outgoing U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin. Schakowsky, 80, is serving her 14th term representing Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, which includes several North Shore suburbs, North Side neighborhoods in Chicago and portions of the northwest suburbs.
Schakowsky made the announcement as she hosted her 24th annual Ultimate Women’s Power Lunch fundraiser at the Sheraton Grand Chicago, where some of the state’s most powerful politicians, including Gov. JB Pritzker and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, mingled.
“I plan to be active in politics, in policy, in fighting for people,” Schakowsky told the crowd. “I have every intention of being fully engaged.”
Speaking to reporters after the event, Schakowsky, with tears in her eyes, said, “I’m gonna keep fighting for a year and a half and beyond.
“I’m gonna give it a swing for a year and a half, and I’m sure there’s going to be wonderful people who decide to run, and I’ll be there to support them,” Schakowsky said.
Schakowsky said her decision was “not as tough as you might think.”
“It’s been a long time that I’ve been in Congress, but I’m not going anywhere,” Schakowsky said. “I’m going to continue to be active, an activist. I’m always an activist, and so I am looking to the future too.”
The congresswoman told the audience she still planned to be a “badass.”
“You want to know what it’s like to be a badass? It means that you are, well, willing sometimes even, to get arrested,” Schakowsky told reporters. “Like at the Supreme Court, when the decision was made on Roe v. Wade and working with John Lewis, who said, ‘You want to get into trouble. Good trouble.’ And that’s how I try and do it.”
Schakowsky was arrested, along with 33 others, in July 2022 during an abortion rights protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court. Schakowsky sent out a social media post with the video of her arrest and wrote, “Today, I am making good trouble. #bansoffourbodies.”
Schakowsky told supporters that the money raised from her event would go to support other Democrats in their battle for the House next year.
Schakowsky serves in House Democratic leadership as a chief deputy whip and sits on some key House committees, including the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee. She is the ranking member on the Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee.
The congresswoman has focused on health care and senior issues and was a leader in passing the Affordable Care Act. Schakowsky on Monday called “Obamacare” one of the most important pieces of legislation she’s passed. She has also been an advocate for women’s rights and consistently voted for measures to support Israel.
Pritzker, who lost a congressional primary bid to Schakowsky in 1998, said Schakowsky has taught Democrats what it means to fight “with everything you’ve got.”
“Twenty-seven years ago, Jan taught me the first and most important lesson that I’ve been taught in politics: how to accept defeat when the best woman for the job wins,” Pritzker said.
Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia called Schakowsky a trailblazer for women in politics.
“Reproductive rights — she was always on the cutting edge of of that. And I think about coming into politics as a woman just eight years ago, or even 15 years ago as a staffer, and how I had to navigate and sharpen my elbows in a way that I was completely blind to, thinking back to what Jan had to go through, or even Toni Preckwinkle or Hillary Clinton,” Valencia said. “I have so much respect, so much respect for women who did not have as many allies, that were told to wait their turn.”
Democrats, such as state Sen. Laura Fine, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss and state Rep. Hoan Huynh, are potential contenders for Schakowsky’s seat. Kat Abughazaleh, a progressive TikTok star, announced her run for Schakowsky’s seat in March.
Biss and Huynh on Monday wouldn’t comment on a run, keeping their messaging on Schakowsky’s achievements.
“She’s just an extraordinary trailblazer. Her role in the anti-war movement, her role in the women’s movement, her role in the labor movement,” Biss said at the event. “We’ve just been so, so fortunate to have her representing her whole community.”
Huynh called her a fighter for the immigrant and refugee communities.
Fine in a statement called Schakowsky “one of the most fearless and effective progressive voices in Washington.”