Rep. Jan Schakowsky joins members of MoveOn.org and members of Congress at an event to demand congress renew an assault weapons ban at United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., July 12, 2016. (Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for MoveOn.org)
(JTA) — Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a veteran Jewish Democrat who has represented a heavily Jewish Chicago-area district since 1999, is reportedly planning to retire.
“I’m going to announce my plans on May 5th. Stay tuned,” Schakowsky said in a statement shared with Politico, which reported that she would announce her retirement.
Schakowsky, 80, represents Illinois’ 9th district, which covers the heavily Jewish suburb of Skokie along with other towns including Evanston, as well as a portion of Chicago’s North Side. She is a longtime progressive stalwart, opposed the Iraq War, and was a leading advocate of the Affordable Care Act and other healthcare measures.
On Israel, she is closely aligned with the liberal Israel lobby J Street, which advocates for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel and a ceasefire in Gaza. In December, she signed a letter urging then-President Joe Biden to sanction Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, two far-right members of the Israeli cabinet. In 2023, prior to the Oct. 7 attack, she spoke at a Chicago demonstration condemning the Israeli government’s judicial overhaul
The news comes alongside an announcement Wednesday by Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat who has been a vocal critic of Israel in the Senate, that he will retire after 44 years in Congress.
At least two Jewish candidates are expected to vie for the seat. One is Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, who is Jewish and a fellow progressive. Biss ran for governor in 2018 against now-Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who is also Jewish. He supported a reparations program for Black Americans in Evanston and, last year, confronted a white supremacist who spoke at an Evanston City Council meeting.
Another is State Sen. Laura Fine, who is a regular attendee at Jewish communal events and has spoken out repeatedly in support of Israel.
Schakowsky was also facing what was seen as a longshot primary challenge from Kat Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old Palestinian-American social media influencer who previously worked for Media Matters, the right-wing media watchdog. In a statement Thursday, Abughazaleh thanked Schakowsky for her tenure and praised her stance on Palestinian rights.
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