CHICAGO: A front ranking Indian community activist and a former Deputy Treasurer of Illinois, Raja Krishnamoorthi has announced his intention to seek the 8th Congressional District seat, which includes the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth currently holds the seat, and she announced her plans to run for the U.S. Senate instead of re-election to the U.S House of Representatives. Raja ran for the 8th District seat in 2012, losing to Duckworth in the Democratic primary. He subsequently worked for her general election victory over incumbent Republican Joe Walsh.
He will form a federal election campaign committee later this week. One of the first tasks for him and the committee would be to get Democratic nomination about which he is hopeful as a good number of front ranking Democrat leaders have been hugely supportive. So far he is the only candidate declaring his intention to run for the Congressional seat
In a talk to this paper, Raja said that prominent and recognized names in the Democratic Party like Congressman Danny Davis, State Senator Dan Kotowski, Schaumburg Township Committeeman Mike Cudzik, Former Palatine Committeeman Sue Walton, and many others have blessed his candidacy.
“Tammy has been an excellent Representative for this district,” said Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat. “I want to continue Tammy’s advocacy for working families, with a focus on helping more people to succeed in the new economy. I will work hard to provide education and job opportunities so more families can achieve the economic security they need.”
He said the main plank for his campaign will be to enable working families to reach and hold on to economic security. “I want them to enjoy economic upward mobility and the ability to climb the economic ladder. We are all better off when Americans enjoy the economic freedom to realize their full potential, he said
Krishnamoorthi, 41, of Schaumburg, has a unique understanding of the challenges facing the US economy and their implications for families and future workers. With successful experience in both the public and private sectors, he will go to Congress with clear ideas to help more Americans find good jobs and economic security in a changing world.
Raja currently serves as President of Sivananthan Labs and Episolar, Inc., small businesses that sell products in the national security and renewable energy industries. He is a co-founder of InSPIRE, a non-profit organization that provides training to Illinois students and veterans in solar technology, and was formerly Vice-Chairman of the Illinois Innovation Council.
“In our rapidly changing global economy, the ability of working families to reach and hold on to economic security is under threat.” Krishnamoorthi said. “We need people in Congress who understand the opportunities provided by the New Economy and how to make sure more Americans are prepared to seize them.
Raja previously served as Illinois’s Deputy Treasurer where he helped revamp the state’s unclaimed property system by using technology to increase the amount of property returned to taxpayers while cutting the program’s costs. He also helped run the state’s technology venture capital fund, assisting in the creation of hundreds of good-paying jobs in Illinois.
The son of Indian immigrants to the US, Raja was raised in Peoria, Illinois, where he attended public schools and graduated as a valedictorian of his high school class.
Raja earned his bachelor’s degree summa cum laude in mechanical engineering from Princeton University and graduated with honors from Harvard Law School.
Following law school, Raja clerked for a federal judge in Chicago, served as issues director for Barack Obama’s successful United States Senate campaign in 2004, and became a partner at an Illinois law firm.
Ramesh Soparawala
India Post News Service
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