Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky of IIllinois has been a name frequently associated with the Blagojevich story and is said to have thrown her hat into the ring for President-Elect Barack Obama's now-vacated US Senate seat.

Who is this woman and what do we know about her?  Click READ MORE...

Perhaps the chief concern  raised about her running for the Senate seat is that her husband, Robert Creamer, went to prison for financial fraud involving a nonprofit.  Over at TheNextRight, "Ironman" has much more on this part of the story, including speculation that she may be "Senate Candidate #1."

But, wait! There's more...

Rep. Schakowsky is carrying a FY2009 earmark for another Chicago-area nonprofit: The Save A Life Foundation.  Who are they? 

According to this November 17, 2006, ABC7 Chicago (WLS-TV) expose by I-Team reporter Chuck Goudie, The Save A Life Foundation is not an organization that represents itself truthfully.  The organization was founded by a woman who claims to be a nurse who specialized in kidney transplants.  But the school she claims she received her degree from has no record of her receiving one and the hospital where she claimed her specialization has records showing that her position there was akin to being a candy striper.

Sidebar: If I am not mistaken, the Arnie Duncan mention in this piece is the same man whom President-Elect Barack Obama is prepared to name as his choice for Secretary of Education.

A follow-up piece describes legal problems facing The Save A Life Foundation as various state agencies examine how the charity spent taxpayer money.  Also in that piece is further evidence that the organization has a very casual relationship with the truth as a history of claims of support from various politicians which are denied by those in question. Finally, there is an episode regarding the re-writing of a copyrighted book at state expense that you just have to read to fully comprehend and appreciate.

Back to the issue at hand...

Here is an excerpt from Rep. Schakowsky's bio on her website:

"Schakowsky serves in the House Democratic Leadership as Chief Deputy Whip and as a member of the Steering and Policy Committee. She is a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, where she will work to accomplish her top priority in Congress -- providing universal healthcare coverage for all Americans. On that Committee, she serves as Vice-Chair of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection and as a member of the Subcommittee on Health and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations."

Question: why is Rep. Schankowsky carrying an earmark for The Save A Life Foundation rather than investigating them?