Illinois: Sixth District

Rep. Peter Roskam (R)

Peter Roskam (R) Elected 2006, 1st term up
Born:	09-13-1961, Hinsdale
Home:	Wheaton
Education:	U. of IL, B.A. 1983, Chicago-Kent Col. of Law, J.D. 1989
Religion:	Anglican
Marital Status:	married (Elizabeth)
Elected  Office:	IL House, 1992-98; IL Senate, 2000-06, Min. Whip, 2003-06.
Professional Career:	Aide, U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, 1985-86, U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde, 1986-87; High school teacher, 1983-85; Exec. Dir., Educational Assistance Ltd., 1987-1993; Practicing atty., 1994-2006.
DC Office	507 CHOB, 20515 202-225-4561 Fax: 202-225-1166 Website: roskam.house.gov
State Offices	Bloomingdale:630-893-9670;
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In World War II, what is now the nation’s second-busiest airport was an apple orchard on which a defense plant was built (hence its current three-letter code: ORD). To the east was the Forest Preserve along the Des Plaines River, to the west little suburban villages strung along rail lines, separated by cornfields. But later in the 1940s, Chicago politicians, in search of a new airport site, annexed the orchard and named it after a World War II airman awarded the Medal of Honor, who got a military appointment from the feds after his father turned state’s evidence against Al Capone and was gunned down. Mayor Richard J. Daley opened O’Hare in 1955 and promoted its development, correctly concluding that a great airport could maintain in the 20th century the economic strength Chicago gained from railroad stations and rail yards in the 19th century. For years O’Hare has vied with Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson as America’s number one or two airport in passenger traffic, and number one in combined passenger and cargo traffic; it has done much to maintain Chicago as the most vibrant center of commerce in the Midwest. With O’Hare operating close to capacity, Mayor Richard M. Daley’s plans to reconfigure the runways and expand the airport are aimed at maintaining that preeminence. They are not popular, however, with the suburbs that surround O’Hare on all sides and are almost as densely settled as the bungalow wards of the city. Politically, these suburbs were for many years solidly Republican, convinced that civic virtues could best be realized by opposing the party of City Hall in Chicago and that economic growth could best be assured by opposing the party that backed stifling government regulation. But in the 1990s they became less Republican, as voters here recoiled from the national party’s cultural conservatism.

The 6th Congressional District of Illinois includes O’Hare and much of the suburban area to its west. Most of the district is in DuPage County, the second largest county in Illinois. It includes the string of long-settled suburbs due west of the Loop: Elmhurst, Villa Park, Lombard, Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, plus the newer suburbs along I-290: Bensenville, Addison, Wood Dale, Bloomingdale. Economically, this remains high-income territory; culturally, it is now cautiously moderate or even liberal. In 1988 George Bush carried DuPage by 124,000 votes, with 68% of the vote, but in 2004 George W. Bush carried the county by only 39,000, with 54% of the vote—which tells you in a nutshell why the elder Bush carried Illinois in 1988 and the younger Bush twice wrote it off.

The new congressman from the 6th District is Peter Roskam, a Republican who replaced the iconic Henry Hyde, one of the most intellectually honest members of the House. Hyde retired after 32 years and as chairman of the House International Relations Committee. A native of DuPage County, Roskam graduated from the University of Illinois and got his law degree while directing a charitable organization that used corporate resources to fund college scholarships. During law school, he was part of a team that won a national mock trial competition. Prior to law school, he worked in Washington for Hyde and for Tom DeLay. Roskam served six years in the state House, and six years in the Senate. Between those legislative stints, he ran unsuccessfully in 1998 for the open congressional seat in the neighboring 13th District, but lost 45% to 40% against state House colleague Judy Biggert in the primary; he attacked her for support of abortion rights and was backed by DeLay, but she raised far more money and had the endorsement of Governor Jim Edgar and the incumbent, Harris Fawell. After Hyde in April 2005 announced his retirement, Roskam raised nearly $400,000 in the next two months, and managed to scare off potentially competitive Republican challengers. He ran unopposed for the GOP nomination and was able to conserve his funds for the general election.

His Democratic opponent was Tammy Duckworth, a former manager for Rotary International and an Iraq war veteran. The daughter of a retired Marine and an ethnic Chinese, she was born in Bangkok and spent much of her early life in southeast Asia. She was famous as a Black Hawk helicopter pilot who served with the Illinois National Guard and lost both legs in Iraq in a crash after her helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. As part of an effort to nominate military veterans for Congress, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (chaired by Rahm Emanuel, from the neighboring 5th District) hand-picked Duckworth; her high profile made this one of the nation's most closely watched House races — and one of the most expensive. First, she faced a competitive primary from technology consultant Christine Cegelis, who ran against Hyde in 2004 and held him to a 56%-44% win, his smallest margin since he was first elected. Contrasting herself to Duckworth, who lived three miles outside the district, Cegelis said that she had been a local resident for 20 years and assembled her own campaign organization. A political novice, Duckworth was slow to learn campaign skills, but she was bolstered by Emanuel and other party leaders. She also benefited from a wave of favorable news coverage for her compelling personal story. Duckworth won the primary 44% to 40% and 16% for Lindy Scott, a Wheaton College professor of Latin American studies.

The two nominees sparred over tax cuts, spending earmarks, the Iraq war, and immigration policy. They also clashed over abortion rights, federal funding for stem-cell research, and expansion at O’Hare; Roskam opposed each. The campaign debate often degenerated into personal attacks. Duckworth criticized Roskam as “a rubber stamp” for the Bush administration, and referred to DeLay as Roskam's “mentor.” A Duckworth spokesman said, “While Peter Roskam was climbing up the political ladder, using connections to disgraced leaders like Tom DeLay, Tammy Duckworth was climbing into helicopters and serving her country.” Bill Clinton and actor Michael J. Fox made late campaign appearances for her. Roskam disparaged Duckworth as the "candidate from the Chicago Democratic machine" because of her ties to Emanuel. He also sought to portray her as a carpetbagger with little connection to the district. In one of the few Republican successes in a competitive House contest, Roskam won with 51.4% of the vote. Duckworth took 53% in Cook County, but it cast only 20% of the total vote; Roskam won 52% to 48% in DuPage—sufficient, though not overwhelming. Senator Dick Durbin promised that Democrats would give Roskam a strong challenge in 2008, but in July 2007 Duckworth, the party's top prospect, said she would not seek a rematch.

Committees

• Financial Services (30th of 33 R)
  Oversight & Investigations; Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade & Technology; Capital Markets, Insurance & Government Sponsored Enterprises.

Presidential Vote

District Demographics (More Info)

• Cook Partisan Voting Index: R + 3
• Area size: 215 square miles
• Urban Population: 100.0%
• Rural Population: 0.0%
• Population 2000: 653,647
• Population 2005 (est): 661,493
• Median Income: $62,640
• Poverty Status: 4.3%
• Military Veterans: 9.6%
• Race/Ethnic Origin: 75.3% White; 2.7% Black; 8.1% Asian; 0.1% Native Am.; 0.0% Hawaiian; 1.3% Two+ races; 0.1% Other; 12.5% Hispanic Origin;
• Ancestry: 16.7% German%; 11.0% Irish%; 9.4% Polish%;
• Occupation: Blue collar 20.2%; White collar 69.5%; Gray collar 10.3%;