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The revelation does not suggest Obama's new gatekeeper was involved in any talk of dealmaking involving the seat. But it does help fill in the gaps surrounding a question that Obama was unable or unwilling to answer this week: Did anyone on his staff have contact with Blagojevich about his choice for the Senate seat? Blagojevich and John Harris, his former chief of staff, face federal charges in an alleged shakedown involving the vacant Senate seat, which Illinois law grants the governor sole authority to fill. Obama said Thursday he had never spoken to Blagojevich about the Senate vacancy and...

When Rep. Jan Schakowsky made her first trip to Iraq this month, the outspoken antiwar liberal resolved to keep her opinions to herself. "I would listen and learn," she decided. At times that proved a challenge, as when Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih told her congressional delegation, "There's not going to be political reconciliation by this September; there's not going to be political reconciliation by next September." Schakowsky gulped -- wasn't that the whole idea of President Bush's troop increase, to buy time for that political progress? But the real test came over a lunch with Gen. David H. Petraeus,...

The Federal Correctional Institute in Terre Haute, Indiana has a new resident. Robert Creamer of Evanston, Illinois moved in recently. He's the husband of far-left Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky--my representative in Congress. Creamer is the former executive director of the Illinois Public Action Council, a defunct organization that appointed itself as the consumer watchdog for Illinoisans. While running this goo-goo group, Creamer got in the habit of kiting checks, which is illegal for a very good reason: It undermines the most important ingredient of a functioning economic system, trust. Schakowsky was on the board of directors of IPAC while hubby was...

Exposing America's Enemies (Part 2): Communist Progressive Democrats Linda Kimball From Exposing America’s Enemies: the ‘Social Justice Seeking’ Communist Left, comes this relevant quote, “For over forty years the New Left has been waging a Gramscian ‘quiet’ revolution for the overthrow of America’s Constitution, Rule of Law, sovereignty, and our way of life. Today the subversives call themselves liberals, progressives, and Democrats (and) as David Horowitz attested to (the majority are) social justice seeking communists. “The Democratic Party is very close to being the (Communist-controlled Progressive) party of Henry Wallace…the vast bulk of the American Left is a communist left.”...

My congresscritter in Washington, Democrat Jan Schakowsky of Evanston, is holding a town meeting on the Iraq War Sunday at Northwestern University. Here are the details: McCormick Auditorium in the Norris University Center of Northwestern University. Doors open at 2:15pm, the event runs from 2:45pm until 4:00pm. There's a map available on the link. Jan's special guest will be Rep. John Murtha, (D-Penn.), who became the leader of the cut-and-run faction of the Democratic Party last year by calling for the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq. Schakowsky, as I've noted before, is one of the most liberal members of...

Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) travels to Evanston for a forum with Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) on Iraq at 2:45 p.m. Sunday at Northwestern University's Norris CenterMurtha and Schakowsky on Iraq Murtha and Schakowsky came to the Iraq war from opposite perspectives. The former Marine, the ranking Democrat on the House Defense Appropriations panel who backed the war, triggered a national debate last November when he called for the U.S. to pull its troops from Iraq. Schakowsky voted against the war and is a leader of the House "Out of Iraq'' caucus. Murtha, in a separate event, will also headline a...

Every time Democratic U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky mentions "Republicans" and "scandal" and "accountability," she'll be sticking her husband's foot in her mouth. The foot I'm talking about belongs to her spousal unit, Robert Creamer, the noted champion of the poor and the downtrodden and Democratic political organizer. "More than anything, I am proud of who Bob is ... He has been a constant crusader," Schakowsky said the other day. She said this after her constant crusader had been sentenced for a criminal check-kiting scheme and a tax fraud charge. . . . If you're yourself, regular old you, a taxpayer...

Earlier today Robert Creamer, the husband of Cong. Jan Schakowsky, (D-IL), was sentenced to five months in prison and 11 months house arrest for his role in a 1990s check-kiting scheme while he was the head of defunct Illinois Public Action Council, a consumer advocacy group. Schakowsky has not been implicated in the scheme. Jan Schakowsky is one of the most liberal members of Congress. She is a member of the far-left Progressive Caucus. Other members of the caucus include such "stars" as Cynthia McKinney, Maxine Waters, Dennis Kucinich, Jim McDermott (Baghdad Jim), Bernie Sanders, and Lynn Woolsey. Schakowsky made...

My representative in the House is Jan Schakowsky of Evanston, IL, pictured below. Earlier today, Jan was probably at the Democratic Party of Evanston's slatemaking session. But rather pondering just who is the most qualified to gain the local party's endorsement for Cook County Water Reclamation District Commissioner, this Robert Novak column in Sunday's Chicago Sun-Times probably dominated her thoughts. From that column: House Republicans, wounded by lobbyist scandals, have called on the House Ethics Committee to investigate more than 10 Democratic members headed by Jan Schakowsky of Illinois and Nydia Velazquez of New York. Schakowsky's husband, consumer advocate Robert...

Not that I forgot about this event, but a FReeper poster on this thread alerted me to next week's sentencing date, Dec. 21, for Robert Creamer, who pleaded guilty this summer to charges largely involving kiting checks while heading the goo-goo organization Illinois Public Action Council. Although she has not been implicated in any crimes, it's curious that Jan was serving on the board of directors of this self-appointed consumer watchdog group while her husband was shepherding the financial improprities at IPAC. This August 31 USA Today article has more details on Creamers transgressions. Congresswoman Schakowsky, a quite-liberal Democrat from...

My representative in Congress is Jan Schakowsky of Evanston. As I've noted before, she's part of the far-left wing of the Democratic party. Proof? Well, in January, she called for an immediate withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. Thursday, elections took place in there. Turnout was very high, and even in the Sunni areas, the level of violence was low. Of course, Jan being a liberal means she is for "the people," yet she has not issued a statement on these elections. Quite ironic. Especially since one of the 15 polling places in the US for Iraqi expatriates (and one...

Marathon Pundit's rep in Congress is Jan Schakowsky of Evanston, IL. She's a hard-left liberal, and here once again is the write-up on Jan from FrontPage Magazine's Discover the Network. On Thursday, this press release came out of Schakowsky's Washington office: SCHAKOWSKY COMMENDS CONGRESSMAN MURTHA FOR HIS CALL TO WITHDRAW AMERICAN TROOPS FROM IRAQ WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky, a founding member of the Out-of-Iraq Caucus, today released a statement commending Congressman John Murtha's call for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. Representative Schakowsky's full statement is below: "Today, Congressman John Murtha, a decorated war veteran and...

Jan Schakowsky has long been a star moonbat under the scrutiny of DTN She sponsored the bill to ease trade sanctions against Cuba.   She received $1.4 million from the leftwing group EMILY’s List, and this helped her overcome attacks based on her husband Robert Creamer’s resignation as head of Citizens Action of Illinois because of a federal investigation In this heavily-Democratic district, backed by 1,500 activist workers, she easily won the general election She once told a writer for the local Democratic Socialists of America (DSA): “The American people are not ideological; therefore, the way to go is to...

Schakowsky's spouse pleads guilty to fraud September 1, 2005 BY NATASHA KORECKI, Federal Courts Reporter Robert Creamer, husband of a North Shore congresswoman, long-time Democratic political consultant and onetime head of the state's largest public interest group, pleaded guilty Wednesday to running a check-kiting scheme and failing to withhold thousands of dollars in payroll taxes. With his wife, U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), in the courtroom, Creamer pleaded guilty to one count of federal bank fraud for writing bad checks to a series of banks that amounted to "interest-free loans" while heading Citizen Action of Illinois, he said. Creamer, 58,...

(Here is the relevant passage. Other than Speaker Hastert, the Illinois Congressional delegation has been pretty quiet. Except for Evanston's Jan Schakowsky, a human-hangover from the 1960s.) REP. JAN SCHAKOWSKY (D-9): "The Bush Administration and Republican leaders are engaged in a pathetic attempt to make Senator Dick Durbin's condemnation of the use of torture at Guantanamo Bay an issue. As a result of the revelations of conditions at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, and Bagram prison in Afghanistan, the Republicans owe the American people, our soldiers and veterans an apology for undermining American values such as the Rule of Law, putting our...

When I heard that President Bush was being blamed for not caring if federal judges lived in fear, just 72 hours after the mother and husband of federal Judge Joan Lefkow were found slain, I wondered if I had time. Time to call detectives and tip them to this explosive new angle about White House insensitivity so soon after the terrible tragedy. Instead, I thought I'd write a column. Lefkow has said she believes the killings may have been a deliberate hit in retaliation for her rulings. The slayings shocked the city, all federal judges and anyone with a heart....

CHICAGO (AP) A federal judge agreed Tuesday to delay the fraud trial of political consultant Robert Creamer, the husband of U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, because of a scheduling conflict with defense attorneys. Judge James B. Moran moved the trial from late February to May 16 for Creamer, who has pleaded innocent to charges alleging he operated check kiting schemes that led to bank fraud totaling at least $2.3 million. Defense attorney Theodore Poulos requested the delay, saying one attorney working on the case might not be able to participate because of medical issues and another had a scheduling conflict. Prosecutors...

Congressional candidate Kurt Eckhardt's comments about not trusting Islam drew renewed criticism Friday from Chicago-area Muslims who called a news conference to say such statements have no place in political campaigns. Ahmed Rehab, communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations' Chicago chapter, also invited the Chicago Republican to visit mosques and Muslim schools, "so that he may come to know the true peaceful and compassionate nature of Islam." Eckhardt, who attended the group's press conference at the Downtown Islamic Center, 231 S. State St., said he would accept that invitation. But he defended comments he made Monday to the...

Ready to Rumble: More than 20 Jewish Democratic lawmakers are volunteering to debate President Bush's Jewish Republican partisans on any aspect of John Kerry's record. "The Bush-Cheney campaign thought they could get away with mischaracterizing Kerry's record. Let's do Israel. Let's do domestic policy. Bring it on," said the executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, Ira Forman, who extended the invitation to debate in a letter to Bush's campaign manager, Ken Mehlman, and the Republican Jewish Coalition. "I can't tell you how easy it was to get them," Forman said of the Democratic lawmakers who volunteered. "We're not...

CHICAGO (AP) A federal judge assigned to hear fraud charges against the husband of U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky said Thursday he may have a potential conflict of interest and left open the possibility that had could turn the case over to another judge. The judge's announcement came as Robert Creamer appeared for arraignment and pleaded innocent to charges alleging he operated check kiting schemes that led to bank fraud totaling at least $2.3 million. Judge James B. Moran said he believes he may have met Creamer, a prominent Chicago political consultant, although he could not recall where or when. But...