Anxious to get back to work the next da
Representative Danny Davis (D-7th) handily defeated three opponents, winning a 15th term with 145,110 votes, or 81.6 percent of the vote, in Tuesday’s November 5, 2024, general election. Davis told the Chicago Crusader he was anxious to get back to work the following morning.
Davis defeated Republican Chad Koppie, a farmer, who received 32,640 votes, and two independent write-in candidates, Lowell Seida, and Lien Choi.
In the March 19, 2024, primary Davis squared off with four challengers and won with more than 42,240 votes, according to Ballotpedia.
“I’m excited and grateful,” said Davis while thanking his constituents for re-electing him again.
He is number 23 in seniority in the 435-member House of Representatives. “No matter who wins, lose or draw, seniority gives you the opportunity to be up close and personal” to the heart of Congress.
The veteran legislator whose political career includes being an alderman from 1979-1990, a Cook County Board Committee member from 1990-1996, and who has been in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1997, is a member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee.
Davis vowed to continue fighting for foster children, for all children, and especially those who need health care, food, education, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANIF) and employment. He also fights for criminal justice reform and women’s rights.
During his tenure, Davis has sponsored almost 7,000 bills and voted more than 16,000 times in Congress.
As co-chair of the Caucus on Re-Entry, he is best known for introducing and passing the Second Chance Act when Barack Obama was president. That bill provided more than $1.2 billion needed to help ex-offenders transition to public life.
Asked if it bothers him that so many American children are going to bed hungry, Davis said, “It bothers me, but we have to do all that we can do to try and change the situation. There are a lot of factors that contribute to the plight of children who are growing up without the idea or the thought that the quality of their lives would be better than their parents or grandparents.
“We grew up with the idea that the quality of our lives would be better than our grandparents’, our children or parents’, but if you look at many of the low-income children, they are not growing with the thoughts that they would be better off than their grandparents and many aren’t. Many will be worse off than their grandparents if we don’t do something about it.”
When asked if poverty is directly connected to crime, Davis said not necessarily.
“Poverty is often in the minds of an individual. You can be poor or low-income and not be impoverished. Poverty is also a part of what you think. If you think you are poor or impoverished, then you are. If you believe you are in a temporary position, then you’re in a temporary position. All of these things need to be changed in different ways.”
Reminded that many African Americans don’t have hope that things will be better, Davis quoted civil rights icon Reverend Jesse Jackson, who often uses the phrase “keep hope alive.”
“You got to keep hope alive. Man has the potential to go to the deepest pit but also to rise to the highest heights. We have to do all that we can to change the trajectory,” said Davis, and then reminded this reporter he had to conclude the interview in order to prepare to get back to work for the people the next day.
Born in Parkdale, Arkansas, Davis moved to Chicago in 1961. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Arkansas AM&N College, a master’s degree from Chicago State University, and a doctoral degree from Union Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Davis serves on the Black Congressional Caucus, the Community Health Center Caucus, the Equity Caucus, the Progressive Caucus, and the Urban Caucus. He is a ranking member of the Sub-Committee on Worker and Family Support who takes his job seriously.
The Seventh Congressional District he represents includes a great portion of the West Side but also Oak Park, Maywood, all or parts of Broadview, Bellwood, Chicago, Forest Park, Hillside, La Grange Park and Westchester.
Davis’ current term ends January 3, 2025; his new term ends January 3, 2027.
