Assistant Majority Leader Jeff Schoenberg started his accomplished career in state politics when he was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1989. Since then, Schoenberg has established himself as one of the state’s most distinguished legislators.

Eliminating inefficient government spending has been a top priority for Senator Schoenberg from the beginning. He is the Senate’s leading expert on contracting issues, and through his legislative efforts to make government more efficient, he has saved the State of Illinois millions of dollars over the past two decades. He is also the chief architect of the Illinois Hospital Assessment Plan, which enables the state to leverage additional federal Medicaid dollars to pay for critical healthcare services. Early in the spring of 2009, Schoenberg introduced an initiative that captured $900 million in new federal aid for hospitals and healthcare services in Illinois.

Schoenberg has also tackled the corruption surrounding the Illinois Toll Highway Authority. Schoenberg has enacted strict regulations to ensure abuses do not occur in the future. These initiatives include greater accountability measures, designed to shed more light on the Toll Highway Authority’s contracting process. One of Schoenberg legislative initiatives requires that if a petition signed by at least 1,000 citizens is submitted to the Authority, the Board of Directors must place that proposal on the agenda of a regularly scheduled meeting within sixty days. Schoenberg also sponsored legislation requiring the Authority to align its purchasing practices with the definition given under the Illinois Procurement Code. More importantly, this legislation ensures that construction contracts are given to the lowest responsible bidder in an open competitive bidding process.

Improving state ethics policies is another area of concern for Senator Schoenberg, and he has been a leading advocate in this area throughout his legislative tenure. He has advanced comprehensive contracting reform legislation which safeguards against "sweetheart" deals for political insiders.

He is also the chief sponsor of multiple measures that passed the legislature in 2009 as part of a comprehensive ethics reform package. The legislative package covers a myriad of issues, including Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, campaign contribution limits, the method in which elected officials receive pay raises, and the removal of individuals appointed to office by George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich.

Senator Schoenberg lives in Evanston with his wife and their two children.