We're going to play a game called "Spot Jan Schakowsky with the American flag at the 'Take Back Chicago' march." more ›

Is it a coincidence, political backlash or yahooligans having fun, the conclusions are undetermined at this time. But yesterday State Rep. and Cook County Commissioner-elect John Fritchey’s office was vandalized making him the sixth political victim this month. more ›

Rep. Jan Schakowksy's political director, Alex Armour, has left the Twitter world. Recently under scrutiny because of something he tweeted back in August regarding the highly controversial Park51, he has shut down his Twitter account. What he wrote has stirred the opposing party, and Rep. Schakowsky has even said that she would not condone the kind of language that Armour used in his politically charged tweet. Stating that he thought his Twitter page was more private than it actually was, Armour has since deleted his Twitter account. Thankfully, there are screenshots to help figure out what exactly went down in the Twitterverse, in 140 characters or less. more ›

Is there anything U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley won't do? It seems carving a penguin out of ice wasn't enough because he also busted out his acting chops on stage at the Goodman. It was part of a benefit production of “A Christmas Carol” for Chicago-area servicemen and women and their families. U.S. Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky co-hosted the event and Schakowsky joined Quigley on stage. more ›

9th District Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky held a town hall meeting on health care reform this week, where she was met by both supporters and opponents of the legislation. Among the opponents of reform were several in the crowd that booed the late Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy. more ›

• The CTA Board approved plans to extend the Red, Orange, and Yellow Lines, but we'll believe it when we see it.
• U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky's son-in-law died while snorkeling during a family vacation in Mexico.
• Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Illinois is cutting 650 jobs.

2010 may be a wild election year in Illinois. That is, if anyone can make up their minds about what they want to do. 7th District Congressman Danny Davis hopes Roland Burris will make up his mind already about running for re-election. Davis told Chicago Public Radio on Monday that Burris's decision will affect his decision about whether to run for Senate next year. "That would play seriously in the thinking of any African American who may be interested," he said. "I'm hoping that the senator will hurry up and publicly let people know whether he intends to run for election." Well, we already know how Burris is leaning. more ›

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and Evanston Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky announced in a joint press release that they will re-introduce the Patriot Employers Act in Congress this week. The legislation, which then-Senator Barack Obama co-sponsored in 2007, would grant a a tax credit equal to one percent of taxable income to employers that meet the following requirements: more ›

There is evidence that Roland Burris does not have plans to quietly go away at the end of his appointed term. A barely assembled website with the URL http://supportburris.com emerged yesterday with the banner "Roland Burris for U.S. Senate - Support Roland Burris in 2010." The site also includes an option for visitors to donate money. This morning, the site has more meat to it and while Burris has issued no public statement about the website or 2010, his staff confirmed the website was, indeed, legit. So now that we know Burris is gunning for 2010, who will he face? We've heard before he could be up against Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky in the Democratic primary. But another name emerged yesterday that makes things a little more interesting. more ›

Man, this thing is a mess and it's pretty tough to sort out, logistically and legally. Here's what we know: Blagojevich still has the power to appoint the seat - as he is still governor - and there may not be much legal ground for opposition, at least from the U.S. Senate. The Trib points out:

In 1969, the Supreme Court ruled the House of Representatives could not refuse to seat Rep. Adam Clayton Powell, a New York Democrat who was accused of putting his wife on the payroll and misusing travel funds to vacation in the Caribbean. Despite those charges, he was reelected by his constituents in Harlem. more ›

at the Hyatt Regency Ballroom. Because who wants to shake hands in a cold Iowa parking lot when you can kick it at the Hyatt in Chicago? more ›

Tuesday we gave you the rundown of who is running for a Green Party nomination in Illinois, but among the candidates, one in particular stands out. Richard B. Mayers, a white supremacist connected with Matt Hale's Creativity Movement is running against Jerome "Jerry" Pohlen in the 3rd Congressional District. This isn't the first time Mayers has run for office. In 2002 he was removed from the ballot in the 9th Congressional District, leaving Jan Schakowsky... more ›

Last week we clued you in to BP's plans to increase the levels of ammonia and sludge thhey are discharging into Lake Michigan from their Whiting, IN refinery. Responding to the wave of local bad press the company got, BP ran full page ads in newspapers, letters to the editor, and even blog advertising, including here on Chicagoist. Yesterday the Chicago Tribune ran with a front page headline detailing the flogging that BP took on... more ›

Starting next Sunday, Chicagoans will be able to shop for fresh fruits and vegetables at the Logan Square Green Market using their food stamp LINK card, making Logan Square market the first food-stamp-friendly market in the state. Customers using the LINK cards will pick out their groceries and then pay at a central station, which allows individual farmers to skip the hassle of setting up a wireless credit card machine. more ›

Last night, North Side/North Shore Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky sat down with Stephen Colbert to discuss her participation in the House Hunger Caucus' Food Stamp Challenge. After accidentally introducing her as Jane (and insisting on calling her such for the rest of the evening, not wanting to admit an error), Colbert dished out his usual satire, suggesting that the food stamp allotment be decreased to $2 to combat obesity. Although she had some difficulty getting... more ›

Illinois Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, along with Representatives Jim McGovern (D-MA), Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) and Tim Ryan (D-OH), will be cutting way back on grocery shopping this week as part of the Food Stamp Budget Challenge,which started on Tuesday. For a week, Schakowsky will live on approximately $1 per meal. This number is based on the FY05 average monthly benefit of $94.05 for people on the Food Stamp Program. McGovern and Emerson challenged all of the House of Reps to participate; only Schakowsky and Ryan took them up on the challenge. more ›

Yesterday Robert Creamer, the husband of Democratic Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, representing our friends up in the 9th District, was sentenced to five months in federal prison for check kiting and withholding taxes. more ›

For the fourth straight presidential election Illinois went solidly blue in 2004, labeling our state "Solid Democratic". Since Democrats control the statehouse and the governor's office too, there's talk in Washington of taking advantage of that shading by redrawing Congressional district lines so more Democrats could take Republican districts. It's called "off-year redistricting", and North Shore Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-9) wants Illinois to take a page from Texas' Republican governor and legislature. In 2002, Texas... more ›

Today’s installment of: what’s up with the government? Illinois’s own Jan Schakowsky (9th District Democrat) has “spearheaded” an effort to rid our nation of a plague on our children. What is this plague you ask? Illiteracy? Disease? Poverty? Abuse? No no, friends: yo-yo water balls. Aside from being our catchy new nickname, yo-yo waters balls are toys, and they are dangerous. So dangerous in fact that Congresswoman Schakowsky, the ranking Democrat on the Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee, has written a letter. She got Dick Durbin to sign it, too. more ›

Here's the Obama For Illinois senatorial campaign site, which has the Obama Blog. And as a U. Chicago law school professor, Obama is beloved, even after standing up a Maroon reporter. The New Republic's Noam Scheiber recently wrote an article about Obama (registration req'd), Black Commentator searches for the "Real" Obama, and the Chicago Tribune's Eric Zorn posts excerpts of an Obama interview Jeff Berkowitz did. You can also read Obama's memoir, Dreams of My Father. more ›