Over the past months, seven Illinois Democrats, including Rep. Jan Schakowsky, have been contemplating running for the Senate next year, looking to deny Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill.) a second term. Everyone in the group is left of center and would probably see a lot of the big national issues the same way.

Schakowsky told me what would make one in the group stand out in the March 2004 Illinois Democratic primary. "As much as anything, it is a style question,'' she said. The optimal candidate in a big field would be the one "willing to stand up and fight the right wing onslaught of the Republican Party, and take on the party of Peter Fitzgerald as well as Peter Fitzgerald.''

Schakowsky said that candidate should recognize that "this is a season rich in opportunity for the Democrats to talk about the complete failure of Republicans to create jobs and get the economy back on track'' while "handing out favors'' to contributors and friends.

On war with Iraq, Schakowsky said the best Democratic candidate would be strong on homeland security but question whether "a war is the best use of our resources and the best way to keep America safe.''

The person who fits this profile is Schakowsky, sworn into her third term Tuesday after winning re-election last November with 70 percent of the vote. Schakowsky is articulate, outspoken with a disarming wit and unabashed in her support of a progressive political agenda.

A former state representative, Schakowsky is a proven fund-raiser with a national network of donors who would be crucial to what is certain to be a multimillion dollar campaign. In 2002, she raised or contributed from her campaign funds $1.2 million for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and $100,000 that went directly to House Democratic congressional candidates. She also pumped money into state races through another political action committee.

But Schakowsky, 58, who lives in Evanston, told me she is taking a pass on a Senate bid this time: "I am not going to run.'' Instead, she wants to take on a larger role in the House and not spend the next year away from her job in Washington criss-crossing Illinois, which is what she would have to do to win a primary.

By staying put in the House for now, Schakowsky's ambitions are focused on climbing up the House leadership ladder and carving out a national role for herself. She is a member of Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's inner circle and is a chief deputy whip.

Schakowsky wanted to make her decision early, in order to free up donors and activists who were holding off on backing other Illinois Democratic Senate hopefuls until she made up her mind.

By not running for the Senate, "I am free to travel as a Democratic leader, as a progressive leader around the country drawing those clear distinctions between economic issues and foreign policy'' that divide Republicans and Democrats. She also wants to help recruit House candidates and "put together the kinds of campaigns to take back the House in 2004 and helping to elect a Democratic president,'' she said.

"One of the roles I see myself playing in the House is this inside- outside strategy,'' she said. "I have a lot or relationships with outside organizations--organized labor, senior citizen, women and consumer groups--so one of my roles will be to mobilize those organizations, those resources and their members.''

The field remaining with Schakowsky out is big and fluid. A leading contender is former Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun (D-Ill.), who said Wednesday she will make a decision by the end of the month. Others in or considering a primary are attorney Gery Chico, who has already raised more than $1 million; state Comptroller Dan Hynes; investment banker Blair Hull, who said he would spend up to $20 million of his own money for the primary; State Sen. Barack Obama (D-Chicago), and Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas.

Schakowsky said she will be looking to make an endorsement in the race and her backing would be influential in a crowded field. Said Schakowsky, "I will support the candidate who has fire in the voice and fire in the belly."