Politics

US Rep. Jan Schakowsky Says She Won’t Run for 15th Term

Jan Schakowsky, a leading progressive voice in the U.S. House of Representatives, announced Monday she would not seek a 15th term in office, setting off a free-for-all for a coveted seat representing the sprawling congressional district that includes much of Chicago’s North Side and north suburbs.

Schakowsky’s long anticipated announcement is sure to touch off a chain reaction as ambitious politicians prepare to run to represent Illinois’s 9th Congressional District, which stretches from Chicago’s North Side through northwest Cook County to southwest Lake County and southeast McHenry County.

Schakowsky vowed to use her remaining 18 months in office to vigorously oppose President Donald Trump and fight for progressive values.

“I can still be a bad ass,” Schakowsky said, promising to use the money she raised at Monday's 24th Annual Ultimate Women’s Power Lunch and her campaign war chest to help Democrats take control of the U.S. House and Senate.

Kat Abughazaleh, 26, who rose to prominence by making lively TikTok videos critiquing Fox News and Republicans, announced in March that she would run for Schakowsky’s seat, putting the contest firmly in the center of the national political spotlight as Democrats struggle to respond to the chaos and upheaval of President Donald Trump’s second term.

A number of veteran candidates with deep ties to the city’s North Side and the suburban North Shore are expected to join the contest that Abughazaleh has vowed to see through to the end now that Schakowsky has bowed out.

Schakowsky had not faced a competitive primary since 1998, when she defeated future Gov. JB Pritzker to win the Democratic nomination in what was then one of the most expensive congressional primaries in U.S. history to replace U.S. Rep. Sidney Yates, who held the seat for nearly 50 years.

“I’m certainly not afraid of anyone who would run against me,” Schakowsky says, calling the 26 years she has spent in Congress "the honor of a lifetime.”

A former member of the Illinois House, Schakowsky was the most progressive candidate in the race to represent the overwhelming Democratic district and promised to champion efforts to expand the rights of female, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer Chicagoans.

While in the U.S House, Schakowsky frequently supported initiatives advanced by unions representing trade works and called for universal health care.

An early supporter of former President Barack Obama, Schakowsky was an outspoken opponent of the war in Iraq, and boycotted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 2015 address to Congress amid negotiations with Iran over a deal to prevent the country from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Schakowsky, who is Jewish, has repeatedly condemned the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and called for Hamas to release the Israeli hostages they continue to hold, while also criticizing Israeli leaders for delaying efforts to end the violence.

Schakowsky’s announcement that she will not seek another term in office makes her the second member of Illinois’ congressional delegation to retire. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, 80, announced April 23 he would not run for reelection.

Schakowsky is not the oldest person to represent Illinois in the U.S. House. U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, 84, beat back bids by a more progressive challenger in 2022 and 2024.

The youngest member of Illinois’ congressional delegation is 39-year-old Rep. Lauren Underwood, who represents the Naperville area. Underwood is weighing a bid to replace Durbin in the U.S. Senate.

Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]

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