Bobby Rush facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bobby Rush
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 1st district
In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2023
Preceded by	Charles Hayes
Succeeded by	Jonathan Jackson
Member of the Chicago City Council from the 2nd ward
In office 1983–1993
Preceded by	William Barnett
Succeeded by	Madeline Haithcock
Personal details
Born	Bobby Lee Rush (1946-11-23) November 23, 1946 (age 78) Albany, Georgia, U.S.
Political party	Democratic (1974–present)
Other political affiliations	Black Panther (1968–1974)
Spouses	Sandra Milan ​ ​ (m. 1965; div. 1973)​ Carolyn Thomas ​ ​ (m. 1980; died 2017)​ Paulette Holloway ​ (m. 2018)​
Education	Roosevelt University (BGS) University of Illinois, Chicago (MA) McCormick Theological Seminary (MA)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1963–1968

Bobby Lee Rush (born November 23, 1946) is an American politician, activist, and pastor. He served as a U.S. representative for Illinois for 30 years, ending in 2023. During the 1960s, Rush was a civil rights activist. He also helped start the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party.

Rush was first elected to the United States Congress in 1992. He won many elections in a row until he retired. His district was mainly in the South Side of Chicago. For a long time, most people in his district were African-American. Bobby Rush is a member of the Democratic Party. He is famous for being the only politician to have ever beaten Barack Obama in an election. This happened in the year 2000 during a primary election.

On January 3, 2022, Rush announced he would retire from Congress.

Early Life and Activism

Bobby Rush was born on November 23, 1946, in Albany, Georgia. When he was seven, his parents separated. His mother moved him and his siblings to Chicago, Illinois. They were part of the Great Migration. This was when many African Americans moved from the Southern U.S. to the North.

In 1963, Rush left high school and joined the U.S. Army. While in Chicago in 1966, he joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. This group helped pass important civil rights laws. In 1968, he helped start the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party. He later finished his Army service and left with an honorable discharge.

Throughout the 1960s, Rush was very involved in the civil rights movement. He took part in peaceful protests in the Southern United States. After a police raid, he became the leader of the Illinois Black Panther Party. He worked on projects that helped African-American communities. For example, he helped set up a medical clinic. This clinic offered sickle-cell anemia testing to many people. In 1974, he left the Black Panthers. Rush is a deeply religious Christian. He said that he doesn't regret his time with the Panthers. He felt it helped him grow.

Education and Learning

Rush earned his first college degree with honors from Roosevelt University in 1973. He then got a Master's degree in political science from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1974. In 1998, he finished a degree in theological studies at McCormick Theological Seminary. On May 13, 2017, Rush received an honorary doctorate from the Illinois Institute of Technology. This was for his great work in Chicago.

Political Career

Starting in Chicago Politics

In 1975, Rush first ran for a seat on the Chicago City Council. He lost that election. But in 1983, he ran again and won. This was the same year Harold Washington became Chicago's first Black mayor. Rush supported Washington during a tough time in the City Council. Later, some of Rush's allies left the Democratic Party. They formed their own party. But Rush chose to work with the Democrats. Because of this, he was given a leadership role in the state party.

Running for Congress

In 1992, after new district maps were drawn, Rush ran for Congress. He ran in Illinois's 1st congressional district. This area included much of Chicago's South Side. This district has had Black congressmen since 1929. Rush won the primary election against the current U.S. Representative Charles Hayes. He then won the main election with a large number of votes. The 1st district has been held by Democrats since 1935.

In 2000, Illinois State Senator Barack Obama challenged Rush in the Democratic primary. During the election, Rush said that Obama wasn't connected enough to Chicago's Black neighborhoods. Obama said Rush was part of "a politics that is rooted in the past." He believed he could work with different groups to get things done. Obama did well in his own neighborhood. But he didn't get enough support from other Black neighborhoods. Rush won with 61% of the votes. He then won the main election easily.

Later Chicago Politics

In 1999, Rush ran for mayor of Chicago. But he lost to the mayor at the time, Richard M. Daley. Rush continued to be active in local politics.

In 2013, Rush spoke out against U.S. Senator Mark Kirk's idea to arrest many members of a Chicago gang. Rush called it an "upper-middle-class, elitist white boy solution." He felt Kirk didn't understand the problem.

Also in 2013, there were accusations that Rush used his political power. He was accused of trying to get a $50,000 contract for a business group.

Supporting Other Politicians

Rush has supported many other politicians over the years.

• In the 2015 Chicago mayoral election, he supported Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
• In the 2019 Chicago mayoral election, he supported Bill Daley first, then Toni Preckwinkle.
• Even though he was good friends with Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, Rush supported Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election. After Obama became president, Rush said that an African American should be chosen for Obama's old Senate seat. He believed it would be wrong not to have a Black person in that role.
• In the 2020 presidential primary, Rush supported Kamala Harris. After she left the race, he supported Michael Bloomberg.
• In the 2023 Chicago mayoral election, Rush supported Lori Lightfoot. After she lost, he supported Paul Vallas.

Serving in the U.S. House of Representatives

Rush during the
103rd Congress

Bobby Rush was known as a loyal Democrat during his time in Congress. He often voted with his party. He was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. This group works to support Black members of Congress and issues important to the Black community. He was also part of the House Baltic Caucus.

Important Issues and Laws

Rush worked on many important issues:

• Money and Income: He started a program in Chicago to help low-income workers get the Earned Income Tax Credit. This is a special tax credit that helps people keep more of their earnings.
• Healthcare: Rush helped pass the Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Act in 1999. This law helped bring more nurses to areas that needed them. He also sponsored the Melanie Blocker-Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act. This bill aimed to help people suffering from postpartum depression. He also worked on the Urban Asthma Reduction Act. This law helped improve how asthma is managed, especially in cities.
• Energy: Rush spoke out against a bill that he felt would stop new ideas in energy. He believed it would hurt research and development for new energy sources.
• Guns: In 2009, Rush introduced a bill called Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act. This bill would require people who own handguns and certain other firearms to get a federal license. It would also require all sales of these guns to go through a licensed dealer.
• Protesting for Human Rights: In 2004, Rush was arrested for protesting in front of the Sudanese Embassy. He was protesting the genocide in Darfur and other human rights problems in Sudan.
• Military: In 2007, Rush disagreed with President George W. Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq. He believed that having troops there made the violence worse. He wanted a peaceful solution.
• Trayvon Martin: In 2012, Rush wore a hoodie in the House of Representatives to honor Trayvon Martin. Trayvon Martin was a teenager who was shot. Rush spoke against racial profiling. House rules do not allow members to wear headgear. So, Rush was asked to leave the room.
• Anti-Lynching Law: Rush twice introduced the Emmett Till Antilynching Act. This bill was named after Emmett Till, a Chicago teenager. The law makes lynching a federal crime. This law finally passed in 2022 after being held up for about 100 years.

Committee Work

In Congress, Rush was a member of the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce. This committee deals with many important topics, including energy and technology. He also led the Subcommittee on Energy.

Missed Votes

Over his career, Bobby Rush missed more votes than many other members of the House. He explained that health issues for himself and his wife were the main reasons for this.

Concerns About Ethics

In 2014, some concerns were raised about Bobby Rush's actions. An ethics report found that he did not pay about $365,000 in rent for an office he used for political work. There were also questions about payments to family members for campaign work. His campaign spent thousands of dollars on things like "campaign visibility" and "services rendered" without clear details.

A company owned by a wealthy businessman paid a large electricity bill for Rush's church. At the same time, Rush was working to get tax benefits for one of this businessman's other companies. Also, a non-profit group Rush started received $1 million from a large phone company. This money was for a "technology center" that was never built. At that time, the phone company was looking for support for a law in a House committee where Rush was a key member.

From 2001 to 2013, businesses that hoped for good actions from Rush in Congress gave about $1.7 million to his charities. While it's hard to say for sure, Rush sometimes voted in ways that helped these companies, even if it meant disagreeing with other Democrats.

Beloved Community Christian Church

Bobby Rush is a pastor at the Beloved Community Christian Church in Chicago. Other non-profit groups in the area sometimes complained. They felt that Rush's church programs received too much government help. These programs included a community development group, a health center, and a group for teens who had been in trouble.

Unpaid Bills

In 2013, Rush, his wife, and the church had about $195,000 in unpaid taxes. This had been a problem for about ten years. The unpaid taxes included property taxes and income taxes. A bank also sued Rush and his wife for $500,000. They said Rush didn't pay property taxes in 2009. In 1994, Rush owed the IRS $55,000 in federal income taxes.

Since 2018, 15% of Rush's congressional salary has been taken to pay back a loan. This loan was for over $1 million for the church he started. A judge ordered Rush to pay back a $550,000 loan that he and others received in 2005. They used the money to buy the church building.

Personal Life

Rush at the Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic

Bobby Rush has been married three times. His first marriage was to Sandra Milan. They had two children and divorced in 1973. He was married to Carolyn Thomas from 1980 until she passed away in 2017. They had seven children together. In 2018, Rush married Paulette Holloway.

In 1999, Rush's son, Huey Rich, was murdered in Chicago. He was 29 years old. This sad event made Rush focus more on stopping gun violence.

In 2008, Rush had a rare type of cancer removed from his salivary gland. He is a member of the Iota Phi Theta fraternity. DNA tests show that he is mainly descended from the Ashanti people of Ghana. Rush has said that his heroes include Abraham Lincoln, Kit Carson, and Huey P. Newton.

In 2018, Rush's son, Flynn Rush, ran for a seat in the Illinois House of Representatives. He lost in the primary election.

Images for kids

• 

  Official portrait, 2018

• 

  Rush during the 103rd Congress

• 

  Rush at the Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic