Peter Roskam

Peter James Roskam (born September 13, 1961) is an American politician and lobbyist who is the former U.S. Representative for IL's 6th congressional district, serving six terms from 2007 to 2019.

In the late 1980s, he served as the Executive Director of Educational Assistance Ltd., a scholarship program for disadvantaged children founded by his father in 1982.

In 1984, Roskam taught history and government at All Saints High School in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

From 1985–86, Roskam served as a legislative assistant to Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX), and from 1986–87 as a legislative assistant to Congressman Henry Hyde.

As a member of his law school team, he was named "Best Oral Advocate" by the American College of Trial Lawyers at its 1988 National Trial Competition.

In 1992, Roskam was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives, serving from 1993–99.

Roskam served in the Illinois General Assembly as a Representative from 1993 to 1998, and Senator from 2000 to 2006.

In the Senate, Roskam served as the Republican Whip, the Republican spokesman on the Executive Committee, and a member of the Rules Committee, Environment and Energy Committee, Insurance and Pensions Committee, and Judiciary Committee.

In the Senate, Roskam sponsored legislation giving the Supreme Court of Illinois authority to reverse a death penalty sentence, has sponsored legislation increasing the penalties for repeat D.U.I. offenders, and was the lead sponsor of a law to maintain courts' power to hold deadbeat parents in contempt to ensure child support.

Roskam has authored or co-authored fourteen bills to cut taxes.

Roskam sponsored an Illinois state Senate bill that would have allowed retired military and police personnel to carry concealed weapons.

Roskam ran for Congress in 1998 in Illinois's 13th congressional district to replace retiring Congressman Harris W. Fawell, but lost in the Republican primary to state Representative Judy Biggert, who went on to win the general election.

Roskam received 40% of the vote to Biggert's 45%.

In 1999, at Biggert's request, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) investigated a mailing sent out by a political action committee (PAC), the Campaign for Working Families (CWF), in support of Roskam.

The FEC did not find the Roskam campaign at fault, but CWF was found to have violated election law.

The PAC was led by conservative activist Gary Bauer.

In 2000, he was appointed by DuPage County Republican leaders to replace the retiring Beverly Fawell in the Illinois State Senate where he served until his election to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Roskam resides in Wheaton, Illinois.

His wife is Elizabeth, they have four children.

Roskam was a partner in the law firm Salvi, Roskam & Maher, a personal injury firm.

The firm, now called Salvi & Maher, is politically notable because former Republican Senate candidate Al Salvi and former Republican House candidate Kathy Salvi are also partners in the firm.

In November 2004, he voted against State Comptroller Dan Hynes's $1 billion proposal to raise taxes on cosmetic surgery to fund stem cell research.

The proposal was narrowly defeated 29–28–1 in the Illinois State Senate.

The Chicago Tribune noted that Roskam earned over $615,000 in 2005 as a personal injury trial lawyer.

After his parents took a trip to Vietnam and saw American veterans' dog tags for sale on the street, the family worked to return the dog tags to their owners or the families of the deceased.

On May 20, 2005, Roskam and six other Illinois senators missed a vote in the Illinois Senate on a non-binding resolution urging the United States Congress to protect Social Security and reject private accounts.

The resolution passed 32–19–1, but no action was taken in the Illinois House.

Roskam has said in a WBBM post-debate press conference, "I am against privatizing Social Security, I am against raising taxes for Social Security benefits, and I'm against benefit reductions for Social Security.

In November 2006, Roskam expressed opposition to raising the national minimum wage from $5.15 per hour, referring to possible effect on small businesses.

In 2006, Henry Hyde opted to retire after 32 years in Congress, and endorsed Roskam as his successor.

Roskam was unopposed in the Republican primary, and faced Democrat Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran, in the November general election.

The race was considered highly competitive, and was called "the nation's most-watched congressional contest" by Eric Krol of the Daily Herald.

He is a member of the Republican Party and served as the Chief Deputy Majority Whip from 2011 to 2014, ranking fourth among House Republican leaders.

Previously, he served in the Illinois Senate and the Illinois House of Representatives.

He served as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Tax Policy for the 115th Congress.

Roskam was defeated by Democrat Sean Casten in the 2018 election.

In 2023, he was named federal policy head of the lobbying practice at Washington, DC-based law firm BakerHostetler.

Roskam was born in Hinsdale, Illinois, the son of Martha (Jacobsen) and Verlyn Ronald Roskam.

He was the fourth of five children and was raised in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, graduating from Glenbard West High School.

He earned his B.A. in political science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his J.D. from the Chicago-Kent College of Law.