by John McCormick, updated
Although not exactly a 'stop the presses' moment, two top aides to President Barack Obama broke a small piece of White House news while appearing this afternoon at a Chicago luncheon to boost the campaign coffers of U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.).
Chicagoans Valerie Jarrett and Tina Tchen said an office they both lead, the White House Office of Public Liaison, is being renamed to the Office of Public Engagement to give it more of a community organizing tone that is central to Obama's biography.
Jarrett, a senior adviser to the president, and Tchen, director of the engagement office, told stories about their first months into the White House during a joint half-hour appearance before a heavily female audience of about 2,000.
Schakowsky, meanwhile, said she will announce on June 8 -- an arbitrary deadline -- whether she will run for U.S. Senate. "If I do run, we will put together a campaign that leaves no stone unturned," she said.
With the Democrats in control of the White House and Congress, she said she has no plans to leaving public life, even as she prepares to turn 65 later this month.
"I find retirement unthinkable," she said. "This is harvest time."
Should she decide to run, questions about her husband, Robert Creamer, will almost certainly be raised.
He pleaded guilty in August 2005 to bank fraud and a federal tax charge and was sentenced to five months in prison and 11 months of home confinement.
After the event, Schakowsky said she has "brutally tested" the negatives her husband's record could bring to a U.S. Senate campaign using polls that measured the kind of attack words that could be used in a negative campaign against her.
"He's not so bad," she said of the results. "Everyone comes to a race with positives and negatives."
An aide to Schakowsky said the event at the Hyatt on East Wacker Drive was expected to gross about $300,000.
"Thank you, Jan, for throwing a party where we could see all of our friends in one place," Tchen said.
Comments
I live in Ms. Schakowsky's district which is severely gerrymandered in order to keep the seat democratic. She is an extremely innefective rep who is a rubber stamp for the far left of her party. In a perfect world she runs for the Senate against Mark Kirk (R) and gets her clock cleaned, which is what would happen if she foolishly ran. Because she is a fool I look forward to her exit from Illinois politics since she would have to give up her current post to run for the Senate. To hear her say "this is harvest time" is an example of her leadership skills, looking forward to getting her share of the goodies while the people of Illinois struggle. This woman needs to go.
Posted by: Scott W. | May 11, 2009 4:09 PM
I live in Ms. Schakowsky's district which is severely gerrymandered in order to keep the seat democratic.
Posted by: Scott W. | May 11, 2009 4:09 PM
************
The Dick Cheney Republicans just got done holding power for eight years and they gerrymandered every single district in America to make them more Republican friendly, just look at Texas.
The reason you can't win seats is because your beloved Republican party has made themselves into a fringe regional party (the South), period, end of story.
Posted by: LoveBuzz | May 11, 2009 4:51 PM
She's only married to a tax cheat......
If she doesn't know what's going on in her own household, if she wasn't (as she claimed) aware of the fraud in the corporation she was a board member of, why should anyone think her qualified to monitor federal spending?
Posted by: Speaking Truth to Power | May 11, 2009 7:22 PM
I love Jan and am a Jan fan. I live in her district and find her and her staff very effective, honest and helpful.
Posted by: mzmarlena | May 11, 2009 8:49 PM
If she doesn't know what's going on in her own household, if she wasn't (as she claimed) aware of the fraud in the corporation she was a board member of, why should anyone think her qualified to monitor federal spending?
Posted by: Speaking Truth to Power | May 11, 2009 7:22 PM
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Teresa,
So she shouldn't be able to hold elected office because of something her husband did?
Why do Republicans hate women?
Posted by: party gal | May 11, 2009 10:23 PM
Not only that but Schakowsky's husband is a convicted felon... Frankly, in a perfect world, she not only doesn't win the Senate race, but she doesn't even make it out of the D. primary. I
Posted by: Kelly G. | May 12, 2009 9:03 AM
Tax Cheat, though her husband pleaded guilty to money laundering.
This type of person seems to fit perfect in the Obama admirstration.
Posted by: Inky | May 12, 2009 9:33 AM
It amazes me that people feel free to comment on things about which they know nothing. I've known Bob Creamer for decades, and I can assure you that, while he made a mistake, it was not made to enrich himself, and he never hurt anyone. People should research and find out what he was accused of before they start throwing invective.
Jan Schakowsky has represented her district well. She is smart. She is articulate. And she is determined. Whatever she runs for, she will have my unqualified support.
Posted by: Aidan | May 12, 2009 4:15 PM
Its one thing to represent the North Side of Chicago, its quite another to represent Decatur.
Posted by: Terry | May 13, 2009 10:41 PM