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Bobby rush5/11/2023 ![]() ![]() Rush has been an advocate against gun violence long before the issue became today’s center of discussion. “I am a little surprised, but I wish him the very best as he starts another chapter.” Robin Kelly, who heads the Illinois Democratic Party, wrote in a text message. “I am sure it was not an easy decision when he has given so many years of his life to the First District,” Rep. But Rush’s announcement is shaking up Chicago’s political landscape, with numerous Illinois politicos already putting out feelers that they’re interested in replacing him. Rush’s 1st District, which encompasses much of Chicago’s South Side, would remain in Democratic hands, so his exit won’t cut into the party’s shaky hold on the House. I think Democrats are in prime position to retake the house and increase their numbers in the Senate.” I don’t believe in Ouija boards, I don’t believe in forecasting the future - none of that. The prospect of Democrats losing the House did not influence his decision, he said. The bill has been approved by the House Judiciary Committee this Congress, but has not been taken up by the full House or Senate. ![]() Rush has introduced the measure, which would designate lynching a federal crime, several times - including exactly a year ago Tuesday. The announcement location is symbolic as Rush hopes to get the Emmett Till Antilynching bill signed into law this year. The veteran lawmaker who went from fist-raising militant to a mainstream, albeit left-leaning, congressman will announce his plans on Tuesday at the Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ, the revered Chicago location of the 1955 funeral of 14-year-old Emmett Till. “I’m just entering into a new level of my life,” he said. “I’m coming home to my church located in the heart of South Side of the city of Chicago,” Rush said, referring to the Beloved Community Church of God in Christ, where he serves as pastor. His plan: to focus on his work as a pastor, where he hopes to maintain sway over voters who sent him to Congress 30 years ago. “I am not ready to go off to some spot in the sun, sit on nobody’s beach drinking tequila.” “First of all, I’m not retiring man, alright?” he said in an interview.
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