Bobby Rush

Bobby Rush
Official portrait, 2018
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Illinois's 1st district
In office
January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2023
Preceded byCharles Hayes
Succeeded byJonathan Jackson
Member of the Chicago City Council
from the 2nd ward
In office
1983–1993
Preceded byWilliam Barnett
Succeeded byMadeline Haithcock
Personal details
Born
Bobby Lee Rush

(1946-11-23) November 23, 1946 (age 77)
Albany, Georgia, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic (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)
EducationRoosevelt University (BGS)
University of Illinois, Chicago (MA)
McCormick Theological Seminary (MA)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1963–1968

Bobby Lee Rush (born November 23, 1946) is an American politician, activist and pastor who served as the U.S. representative for Illinois's 1st congressional district for three decades, ending in 2023. A civil rights activist during the 1960s, Rush co-founded the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party.[1]

Rush was first elected to Congress in 1992. He won consecutive reelections until his retirement. His district was originally principally on the South Side of Chicago, with a population from 2003 to early 2013 that was 65% African-American, a higher proportion than any other congressional district. In 2011 the Illinois General Assembly redistricted this area after the 2010 census. Although still minority-majority, since early 2013 it is 51.3% African American, 36.1% White, 9.8% Hispanic, and 2% Asian. A member of the Democratic Party, Rush is the only politician to have defeated Barack Obama in an election, which he did in the 2000 Democratic primary for Illinois's 1st congressional district.

On January 3, 2022, Rush announced that he was retiring from Congress.[2]

  1. ^ "Rep. Bobby Rush to Revisit Black Panther History This Week". NBC Chicago. October 18, 2016.
  2. ^ Sweet, Lynn (January 3, 2022). "Rep. Bobby Rush to retire after 15 terms". Chicago Sun-Times.