State Sen. Schoenberg To Retire When Term Ends
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) -- Illinois State Sen. Jeffrey Schoenberg (D-Evanston) has decided to retire at the end of his current term, after 22 years in the General Assembly.
Schoenberg announced at the Illinois Capitol Tuesday that he will not run for reelection at 2012.
He was elected to the state House of Representatives at the age of 30 in 1990, and was elected to the state Senate in 2003.
Schoenberg said he has always enjoyed his life in public service.
"I still love my work in the public sector. I find it intellectually challenging. It's given me a chance to really provide an instinctive voice for reform, and to make a difference in the lives of many people."
In particular, he expressed pride in sponsoring a 2008 law that required the state's pension funds to divest themselves of any holdings in the Iranian energy sector.
Schoenberg also says he believes the state's seemingly perpetual budget crisis is not a lost cause.
"I believe that the budget problem can indeed be solved. The problems that exist in Illinois are not uncommon to Chicago, and almost any other governmental body across the country," he said.
After he retires, Schoenberg says will expand his job helping the wealthy Pritzker family manage its philanthropy in the area of early childhood development.
