Congresswoman Schakowsky Assists Residents through Social Service

In an effort to continue reaching out to her constituents, U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky offers a weekly service at the which allows residents to ask questions about various federal issues that they may be facing.

Every Wednesday from 1:30-5 p.m. in room 3009, one of Schakowsky’s staff members - known as constituent advocates - is on-hand to answer questions. From the time she was elected, her staff has helped around 26,000 people with issues regarding; Medicare, Social Security and veterans’ benefits along with many others. However, some of the most common questions stemming from the Des Plaines area are perhaps a reflection of its diverseness.

“Overall, for my offices, I would say that the number one issue somehow deals with immigration,” Schakowsky said.

For instance, many residents have family members in another country who are experiencing trouble with their visas. Anyone who’s ever applied for a visa or even a passport knows how time consuming the process can be. But without a visa, they are unable to visit the U.S. for family emergencies. In response to these difficulties, Schakowsky directly follows up with personal phone calls to embassies around the world in order to help set-up appointments.

“We really encourage people to come to us and let us help them break through all the red tape that they might face,” she said.

Without an office in the area – the nearest being in Evanston – the service provides an outlet for those living in the northwest portion of her district. Considering Des Plaines is a “very important” neighborhood for Schakowsky, she wanted to make it as easy as possible for people to access their office via the library. Residents can meet one-on-one with a staff member who keeps record of individual cases.

“It’s good that their reaching out to communities that aren’t so close to Evanston and people can walk in without an appointment to see a representative of the congresswoman,” said Bob Blanchard, Des Plaines adult services librarian.

The congresswoman and her staff take a lot of pride in their constituent service. They’re happy to help anyone, regardless of party affiliation or immigration status.  

“We see our job not as defending the government or the bureaucracy but rather advocating on behalf of our constituents to get the job done for them,” Schakowsky said.

State Sen. Dan Kotowski and State Rep. Rosemary Mulligan hold similar services at the library as well. More information can be found at www.dppl.org.