Rush, Bobby L. (Bobby Lee), 1946-

<p>Bobby Lee Rush (born November 23, 1946) is an American politician, activist, pastor, and the U.S. Representative for Illinois's 1st congressional district, serving in Congress for more than two decades.</p>

<p>A civil rights activist during the 1960s, Rush co-founded the Illinois chapter of the Black Panthers.</p>

<p>Rush was first elected to Congress in 1992 and assumed office in 1993. He has since won consecutive re-elections. His district was originally located principally on the South Side of Chicago, with a population from 2003 to early 2013 that was 65 percent African-American, a higher proportion than any other congressional district in the nation. In 2011 the Illinois General Assembly redistricted this area following the 2010 census. While still minority-majority, since early 2013 it is 51.3 percent African American, 9.8 percent Latino and 2 percent Asian. He was re-elected in 2016. 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.</p>

<p>Rush was born on November 23, 1946, in Albany, Georgia. After his parents separated when Rush was 7 years old, his mother took him and his siblings to Chicago, Illinois, joining the Great Migration of African Americans out of the South in the first part of the 20th century. In 1963, Rush dropped out of high school before graduating; he joined the U.S. Army. While stationed in Chicago in 1966, he joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which had helped obtain national civil rights legislation passed in 1964 and 1965. In 1968, he went AWOL from the Army and co-founded the Illinois chapter of the Black Panthers. He later finished his service, receiving an honorable discharge from the Army.</p>

<p>Throughout the 1960s, Rush was involved in the civil rights movement and worked in civil disobedience campaigns in the southern United States. After co-founding the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in 1968, he served as its defense minister. After Black Panther Fred Hampton was killed in a police raid, Rush said, "We needed to arm ourselves", and referred to the police as "pigs". Earlier that same year Rush had discussed the philosophy of his membership in the Black Panthers saying, "Black people have been on the defensive for all these years. The trend now is not to wait to be attacked. We advocate offensive violence against the power structure." After Hampton's death, Rush became acting chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party.</p>

<p>Rush worked on several non-violent projects that built support for the Black Panthers in African-American communities, such as coordinating a medical clinic which offered sickle-cell anemia testing on an unprecedented scale. Rush was imprisoned for six months in 1972 on a weapons charge, after carrying a pistol into a police station. In 1974, he left the Black Panthers, who were already in decline. "We started glorifying thuggery and drugs", he told People. Rush, a deeply religious born-again Christian, said, "I don't repudiate any of my involvement in the Panther party—it was part of my maturing.</p>

<p>United States Representative Bobby L. Rush is a transcendent and influential American leader who keeps his legislative and policy interests focused on the needs of his constituents in the 1st Congressional District of Illinois, with an emphasis on the most vulnerable and the communities that feel left behind. He believes deeply in the redemptive power of the human spirit and in human ingenuity and tenacity. In office since 1993, Rush stands on the shoulders of a long line of patriots and public servants who have gone before him and who are ardent believers in our Constitution. His life is an example of our nation’s fundamental promise and his work reflects a deep determination to bend the arc of government resources and innovation towards the needs of every American — whether they live on our nation’s main streets or its side streets. Rush fights every day for his constituents; to improve their lives, grow the economy, bring jobs to the district, and build a stronger middle class.</p>

<p>Chicago and its surrounding communities are a snapshot of the diversity that is found across America. While large parts of Rush’s district include communities that house world-class health and educational institutions and a diverse array of businesses, there are others where youth unemployment and acts of violence are far too common. Rush has focused on providing a public policy approach to creating jobs, tackling gun violence, and making communities safer. Rush is an honorably discharged veteran of the United States Army and an ordained minister with a Master’s Degree in Theology. Rush has honorary doctorate degrees from the Virginia University of Lynchburg, Roosevelt University, and the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). In addition to his Congressional responsibilities, Rush is the pastor of the Beloved Community Christian Church of God in Christ in Chicago. Rush listens to his constituents with a pastor’s ear and acts on their needs through hard work, empathy, and a commitment to public service. Rush was married to the late Carolyn Rush for 37 years and recently married Minister Evangelist Paulette Rush.</p>

<p><b>Legislative Highlights</b><br>
From his very first year in office, Rush has focused on issues of importance to low- and middle-income families and communities. In 1993, as a freshman in the 103rd Congress, Rush introduced bills on issues as diverse as Conflict Resolution and Mediation to Public Pensions and Community Development.</p>

<p>Rush’s track record of leadership on energy issues and his support for small business while serving as an alderman in the Chicago City Council paved the way for him to gain a seat on the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee in his second term.</p>

<p>Rush’s attention to detail in crafting national legislation inspired his peers to elect him Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection during the 111th Congress. Under Rush’s watch, important pieces of legislation became law including the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-314). Signed into law by President George W. Bush, this statute is a landmark piece of legislation that provided an effective congressional response to an unprecedented wave of consumer product safety recalls in 2006 and 2007.</p>

<p>Key pieces of legislation that Rush crafted surrounding postpartum depression, women’s health (Sec. 2951 and Sec. 2952 of Subtitle L), and prescription drug offsets (Sec. 7101 and Sec. 7102 of Subtitle B) were adopted in the landmark Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148), signed into law by President Barack Obama.</p>

<p>Because of Rush’s leadership over the years on a range of small business issues and community-based lending, Rush was chosen to serve as a conferee as part of the final, bipartisan deliberative process that led to the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (P.L. 111-203). Rush fought hard to help ensure that low- and middle-income consumers would never again fall prey to the ill-conceived, predatory financial practices that led to the near epic collapse of U. S. financial markets in 2008.</p>

<p>In 1996, Rush served as a conferee on the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-104). This law, the first major overhaul of U.S. telecommunications law in almost 62 years, marked the first time the internet was included in the broadcasting spectrum allotment and paved the way for the growth of cable and internet accessibility throughout the nation.</p>

<p>During his tenure, Rush has brought more than one billion dollars to the 1st Congressional District. Through his determined advocacy, he has led efforts to fund major infrastructure projects in the district such as the reconstruction of the Dan Ryan Expressway, the Lovana S. ‘Lou’ Jones/Bronzeville Metra Station, the CREATE Englewood Flyover, the CTA Red Line Reconstruction, and the CTA Red Line 95th Street Station Renovation. Over the years, he has obtained millions of dollars in grants for libraries, museums, municipalities, police departments, hospitals, schools, and programs that support the arts.</p>

<p>As Chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee’s Energy Subcommittee, one of Rush’s top priorities has been to increase opportunities for minorities within all sectors of the energy industry. In order to do so, Rush has introduced the 21st Century Energy Workforce Development Jobs Initiative Act (H.R. 338). This bipartisan bill establishes a comprehensive program to improve the education and training of workers for energy-related jobs, with an emphasis on increasing the number of skilled minorities and women trained to work in such jobs.</p>

<p>Today, Rush continues to carve an effective course of sound legislative leadership that protects consumers, supports our military personnel, creates jobs, expands businesses, and promotes America’s national energy policy. As Rush looks to the future, the needs and interests of the people he serves in the 1st Congressional District of Illinois remain front and center.</p>

<p>RUSH, BOBBY L., a Representative from Illinois; born in Albany, Dougherty County, Ga., November 23, 1946; attended Marshall High School, Marshall, Ill.; B.A., Roosevelt University, Chicago, Ill., 1974; M.A., University of Illinois, Chicago, Ill., 1994; M.A., McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago, Ill., 1998; United States Army, 1963-1968; insurance agent; alderman, Chicago, Ill., city council, 1983-1993; deputy chairman, Illinois Democratic Party, 1990; unsuccessful candidate for mayor of Chicago, Ill., 1999; minister; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Third and to the thirteen succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1993-present).</p>