Raja Krishnamoorthi

Raja Krishnamoorthi, 43, grew up in Illinois and has dedicated his life to serving our community and fighting for our most vulnerable citizens. The son of Indian immigrants to the U.S., Raja is a progressive advocate for protecting Social Security and Medicare, making higher education more affordable, and bolstering small businesses. Raja was elected to represent Illinois' 8th Congressional District on November 8, 2016 and is serving his first term as Congressman. Raja believes the middle class upon which our democracy depends is shrinking. Therefore, Raja is advocating policies to help working families, including equal pay for equal work, paid sick and maternity leave, raising the federal minimum wage, and making college more affordable. Raja is also a staunch defender of women's reproductive freedom. Starting from humble roots in Peoria, Illinois, Raja attended public schools there. He later won scholarships and took out loans to attend college and law school. After clerking for a federal judge in Chicago, Raja served as issues director for Barack Obama's successful 2004 campaign for the U.S. Senate. Later, Raja was appointed by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to serve as a Special Assistant Attorney General in her newly formed Public Integrity Unit to root out corruption. Raja has served as a member of the Illinois Housing Development Authority, where he chaired the Audit Committee. He also served for two years as Illinois Deputy Treasurer. A small businessman, Raja served as president of Sivananthan Labs and Episolar, Inc., small businesses in the Chicago suburbs that develop and sell products in the national security and renewable energy industries. He is a co-founder of InSPIRE, a non-profit organization that provides training in solar technology to inner-city students and veterans. Raja formerly was Vice-Chairman of the Illinois Innovation Council, whose mission is to promote innovative technologies that support economic growth and job creation. Raja and his family place a high priority on the value of education. His father is a professor of engineering at Bradley University in Peoria. Raja earned his bachelor's degree summa cum laude in mechanical engineering from Princeton University and graduated with honors from Harvard Law School. His brother is a doctor who treated veterans at the VA and now provides care to inner-city children and families in Chicago. Raja is married to Priya, a doctor who practices at local hospitals. They live in Schaumburg with their children Vijay and Vikram, who attend public schools in District 54, and Sonia, who was born this May.