GRAND BOULEVARD \u2014 Jonathan Jackson declared victory against 16 competitors for the Democratic nomination for Illinois\u2019 1st Congressional District seat, making him Rep. Bobby Rush\u2019s likely successor in representing the deep-blue South Side district.<\/p>\n
With 93 percent of precincts reporting, Jackson<\/a>, an activist and businessman, received 27.8 percent of the vote, according to unofficial returns. He\u2019s the son of civil rights icon the Rev. Jesse Jackson and brother of disgraced former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.<\/p>\n Pat Dowell<\/a>, Chicago\u2019s 3rd Ward alderman, garnered 19 percent of the vote. Dowell announced her congressional campaign\u00a0one day after Rush revealed he\u2019d step down<\/a>, shifting her focus from running for Secretary of State.<\/p>\n Karin Norington-Reaves, former CEO of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership and Rush\u2019s pick to replace him, was in third with 14.2 percent of the vote. Trailing her was State Sen. Jacqueline Collins<\/a> with 12.1 percent, pastor Chris Butler<\/a> with 5.7 percent and My Block, My Hood, My City founder Jahmal Cole<\/a> with 4.9 percent, according to unofficial totals. <\/p>\n Jonathan Swain, owner of the Kimbark Beverage Shoppe in Hyde Park and founder of the\u00a0Hyde Park Summer Fest<\/a>, raised the most in the race as of June 8<\/a> with $543,199. He was followed by Dowell with $531,812, Norington-Reaves with $459,827 and Jackson with $375,304.<\/p>\n Cryptocurrency groups spent more than $1 million on campaign advertisements to boost Jackson\u2019s campaign in the final days of the race, according to the Sun-Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n The other candidates for the 1st District seat were:<\/p>\n The 17 candidates in the primary race held few major differences on hot-button national issues<\/a> like cutting health care costs, reducing fossil fuel dependence and curtailing gun violence.<\/p>\n They largely touted their political experience \u2014 or lack thereof, in the cases of candidates who pushed back against establishment politics \u2014 to differentiate themselves ahead of Tuesday\u2019s election.<\/p>\n Army veteran\u00a0Eric Carlson<\/a>, gun store owner\u00a0Jeff Regnier<\/a>, former 7th Ward committeeperson\u00a0Philanise White<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Geno Young<\/a> squared off in Tuesday\u2019s Republican primary for the 1st District seat. Carlson was found guilty in 1995 of criminal sexual assault and served nearly six years in prison, the Tribune reported last week<\/a>.<\/p>\n In 1929, Oscar Stanton De Priest became the first Black person elected to Congress in the 20th century. The district has been represented by Black men ever since \u2014 including Harold Washington, who resigned in 1983 after he was elected Chicago\u2019s first Black mayor.<\/p>\n A Republican has not held the 1st District seat since De Priest lost his reelection bid in 1934.<\/p>\n Rush, 75, announced Jan. 4<\/a> he would step down when his 15th term in the House of Representatives ends next year. Norington-Reaves announced her candidacy Jan. 9 and received Rush\u2019s endorsement days later.<\/p>\n Rush was re-elected to the 1st District seat 14 consecutive times with few serious challenges. His only election loss in the last 30 years came in 1999, when he ran for mayor against incumbent Richard M. Daley.<\/p>\n Then-Sen. Barack Obama\u2019s only election loss came when the future president ran for Rush\u2019s seat in 2000<\/a>.<\/p>\n Rush has highlighted his efforts in Congress around infrastructure, gun violence prevention and social justice as he prepares to step down.<\/p>\n Among the achievements Rush has touted:<\/p>\n Rush vowed in January to pass anti-lynching legislation before leaving office. That vow was fulfilled in March when President Joe Biden signed the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act<\/a> into law, making lynching a federal hate crime for the first time.<\/p>\n As congressperson, Rush has \u201crepeatedly failed to pay federal, state or local taxes on time,\u201d\u00a0according to the Better Government Association<\/a>. Along with his second wife, Carolyn, he was\u00a0sued over home mortgages and unpaid property taxes<\/a>\u00a0in 2010.<\/p>\n Rush was also found\u00a0liable for more than $1 million in loans<\/a>\u00a0given toward Beloved Community Church\u2019s failed church expansion, and a judge ordered his congressional paychecks garnished in an effort to pay back the loans.<\/p>\n Rush\u00a0missed more votes than any other representative<\/a>\u00a0between 2007 and 2015, a period during which he and Carolyn experienced severe health problems.<\/p>\n The House ethics committee found in 2018 he broke the law by\u00a0accepting rent-free office space as a gift<\/a>\u00a0for more than two decades.<\/p>\n Rush will remain a public figure and fight \u201cfor equity and justice\u201d in his community as pastor of the\u00a0Beloved Community Church of God in Christ<\/a>, he said in January. The church got its start as a Bible study group after Rush was ordained as a minister in 2002,\u00a0according to the Tribune<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lede-admin.blockclubchicago.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/01\/010422-Congressman-Bobby-Rush-Retirement-Colin-Boyle-6278.jpg?w=710\")
Credit: <\/strong> Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/span>Replacing Rush<\/h2>\n
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