U.S. Rep. Schakowsky keynotes Urban Ministries dinner

U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) greets Stanley Campbell when he visited Washington, D.C., to lobby for travel to Cuba. (Photo provided)

From press release

U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) will be the keynote speaker at Rockford Urban Ministries’ (RUM) 48th annual dinner, Sunday, July 18, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Grace United Methodist Church, 3555 MacFarland Road, Rockford, will host the affair, with the United Methodist Men & Women’s groups serving.

Grace United Methodist Church is South of Riverside off Interstate 90, just east of Perryville.

The dinner is $30, and is open to the public. The program, which begins at 7 p.m., is free and open to the public. Dinner begins at 5:30 p.m., and reservations for $30 can be sent to “RUM Dinner, 301 Dawn Ave, Rockford IL 61107.” Vegetarian dinners are available.

RUM is the social justice outreach of 20 area United Methodist congregations. The latest projects include opening JustGoods, a fair-trade store at 201 Seventh St.; placing a wind generator on the roof; and Rockford Work Camps (RWC). RWC invites church volunteers to help low-income families repair their homes. This summer, 20 volunteer groups will work on 23 homes.

Stanley Campbell, director of RUM for the last 25 years, first met Schakowsky when she was director of Public Action. She came to Rockford in 1985, just after Campbell was hired. The two organizations shared an office in the 300 block of East State Street.

“Jan taught me almost everything I know about political action,” says Campbell.

Schakowsky was elected to represent Illinois’ 9th Congressional District Nov. 3, 1998, after serving for eight years in the Illinois State Assembly. She is in her sixth term.

Schakowsky serves in the House Democratic Leadership as chief deputy whip and as a member of the Steering and Policy Committee. She is a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, where she will work to accomplish her top priority in Congress—providing universal health care coverage for all Americans. On that committee, she serves as vice chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, and as a member of the Subcommittee on Health and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

Speaker of the House U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) recently appointed Schakowsky to serve on the House Select Committee on Intelligence. On that committee, Schakowsky serves as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Schakowsky opposed the Iraq war resolution, and was a founding member of the Out-of-Iraq Caucus.

Schakowsky is a leading advocate for women’s issues in Congress, sponsoring legislation that would prevent violence against immigrant women, establish transitional housing for women and children who are victims of abuse, and commemorate International Women’s Day. During the 111th Congress, Schakowsky serves as Democratic co-chairman of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues.

For more information about the program/dinner, call RUM at (815) 964-7111.