Illinois Democrat Jan Schakowsky endorses Elizabeth Warren for president

Illinois Democrat Rep. Jan Schakowsky on Saturday endorsed Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s 2020 Democratic presidential bid.

Schakowsky is in her eleventh term in Congress, and serves in House Democratic Leadership as a senior chief deputy whip, according to her congressional website.

The congresswoman in a statement touted Warren driving the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a government watchdog agency that was the brainchild of Warren and opened its doors in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis during the Obama administration to oversee financial institutions.

“But she didn’t just come up with the idea…. She turned it into reality. She convinced newly elected President Barack Obama to embrace it. She helped organize a public groundswell of voters to support it. She led the battle to convince Congress to pass it. Then she was asked by President Obama to set it up and staff it,” Schakowsky said.

“As an ordinary person… with no elected position…. She converted her passion for social and economic justice into fundamental changes in the structure of our economy — into concrete reality,” Schakowsky said. “Think what she will do as President of the United States.”

Warren said in a statement she is deeply grateful to have Schakowsky’s support.

“Jan is a relentless fighter for working families who understands the importance of building a grassroots movement so that we can make Washington work for everybody, not just the wealthy and well connected,” Schakowsky said.

Warren has picked up a number of notable endorsements, including Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who split from her progressive freshman allies; Black Womxn For, a group of more than 100 black women activists; the liberal organization The Working Families Party; and activist Ady Barkan, who is dying of ALS and one of the leading health care activists in the country.