Janice Schakowsky was born Janice Danoff on May 26th, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois. The second child of Jewish immigrants, Irwin and Tillie Danoff, Jan graduated from the University of Illinois in 1965 with a Bachelor of Science in elementary education. One day while food shopping in Evanston, Schakowsky noticed the absence of a “freshness date” on cottage cheese containers. She took steps to rectify the situation and with friends organized a nationwide campaign, this campaign led to food expiration dates becoming a normalcy. This success led Schakowsky becoming a noted activist and was the start of her long career in policy and advocacy. From 1976 to 1985 she served as the Program Director of Illinois Public Action and for five years until
