Former member of Congress · last served 117th Congress
Bobby L. Rush
Bobby Rush was a Democratic U.S. representative from Illinois, first elected to Congress in 1993, who voted with most Democrats on 93% of the 112th Congress’s yes/no votes and sponsored 1 bill that became law (113th–117th Congress).
How we count: “Broke with party” is a yes/no roll call where the member voted against most of their own party on that vote (party as recorded; even splits not counted). “Pork: own share” splits each earmark shared by several members evenly among them.
5 most recent votes
- YeaOn Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendments — American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Agreeing to the Resolution — Providing for consideration of the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 8) to extend certain tax relief provisions enacted in 2001 and…Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Concur in the Senate Amendment — Drywall Safety Act of 2012Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Concur in the Senate Amendment — To provide for the conveyance of certain property from the United States to the Maniilaq Association located in Kotzebue, Alaska.Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- NayOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass — Congressional Pay Freeze and Fiscal Responsibility ActJan 1, 2013 · Passed
5 most recent bills
- H.Res. 1490 Expressing support for the Parliament of the World's Religions.Nov 17, 2022 · Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
- H.R. 7730 Blair Holt Firearm Owner Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2022Nov 1, 2022 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
- H.R. 3625 United States-Cuba Relations Normalization ActNov 1, 2022 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.
- H.Res. 1147 Expressing support for the designation of May 2022 as Healthy Vision Month to promote eye care, thereby helping Americans of all ages maintain healthy vision…May 27, 2022 · Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
- H.R. 55 Emmett Till Antilynching ActMar 29, 2022 · Became Public Law No: 117-107.
Top bills sponsored
- H.R. 4040 (110th) Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008Became law
- H.R. 3909 (106th) A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4601 South Cottage Grove Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, as the "Henry W. McGee…Became law
- H.R. 3340 (108th) To redesignate the facilities of the United States Postal Service located at 7715 and 7748 S. Cottage Grove Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, as the "James E.…Became law
- H.R. 441 (106th) Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Act of 1999Became law
- H.R. 1285 (109th) Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Reauthorization Act of 2005Became law
- H.R. 35 (116th) Emmett Till Antilynching ActPassed a chamber
- H.R. 20 (110th) Melanie Blocker-Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care ActPassed a chamber
- H.Res. 231 (109th) Recognizing and celebrating the life and accomplishments of the great African American jockey Jimmy "Wink" Winkfield and the significant contributions and…Passed a chamber
Laws first, then bills that passed a chamber, were reported from committee, or drew the most cosponsors.
Elections Rep. Rush has won
Rep. Rush has won 15 U.S. House elections (1992–2020). Of the contested races, margins ran from 46.2 to 76.5 points.
Full election history for this seat →
Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab, U.S. House V15 / U.S. Senate V8 (CC0), retrieved 2026-10-18; winners matched to member records by seat and term. Results run through the 2024 elections; nothing from 2026 is shown until it is certified. A margin is a fact about one election, never a score of how well a member represents anyone, and PORKER does not rank members by it.
How has Illinois’s 1st district done while Rep. Rush served?
2012 to 2021 in IL-1: typical household income was up 10% after inflation, the share of people below the poverty line was down 4.5 points, and the share of workers looking for a job was down 4.2 points.
Each mini chart has its own scale, fitted to its lines (it does not start at zero), so compare the numbers, not the heights. Teal = district, oxblood = state, grey = U.S.
While they served, not because of them. This shows what happened in Illinois’s 1st district during Rush’s time representing it (1993 to 2023). It does not say what the member did or caused. It is not a score, and PORKER never ranks members on it.
Only one set of district lines is shown. IL-1 was redrawn in 2012 and again in 2022, and a redrawn district is a different place. So this card shows only the longest stretch on the same lines during the term, 2012 to 2021 (no 2020 yearly estimate), not the full 1993 to 2023.
Official records on bills this member sponsored
117th Congress. What Congress.gov lists for the 53 bills sponsored.
| Record | Bills | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bills sponsored | 53 | Source: Congress.gov member record, PORKER copy of October 26, 2026 ↗ See them → |
| With a sponsor’s constitutional-authority statement | 41 | See the 41 → |
| With a CBO cost estimate listed | 2 | See the 2 → |
| With a committee report listed | 3 | See the 3 → |
Evidence
- How counted
- Bills where this member is the lead (first-listed) sponsor in the 117th Congress, read from the stored Congress.gov bill records
- Fields
- cboCostEstimates, committeeReports, constitutionalAuthorityStatementText, notes
- PORKER copy refreshed
- October 26, 2026 (nightly)
Read this first. These are counts of records Congress.gov lists. Many bills never get a CBO estimate or a report, so a zero is not a mark against a member. We never show this as a score.
Data as of Oct 26, 2026 · latest recorded House vote Sep 16, 2026 · Sources: Congress.gov, Senate.gov, House Clerk, Appropriations Committee earmark tables. PORKER is non-partisan.