CQ Risk Rating: Safe Democrat 
| GENERAL ELECTION: NOVEMBER 7, 2000 |
|
| Bobby L. Rush (D) | 172,271 | 88% |
| Raymond G. Wardingley (R) | 23,915 | 12% |
| PRIMARY ELECTION: MARCH 21, 2000 |
|
| | Votes | Percentage | | Democratic |
| Bobby L. Rush | 59,599 | 61% |
| Barack Obama | 29,649 | 30% |
| Donne Trotter | 6,915 | 7% |
| George C. Roby | 1,501 | 2% |
| | Republican |
| Raymond G. Wardingley | 2,721 | 100% |
Source: Congressional Quarterly. To suggest updates and corrections: politics.feedback@cq.com
Major Industry | Population | Cities | People | Race | Median Household Income | Unusual Features
ILLINOIS 1
:
Chicago - South Side and southwest
The nation's first black-majority district, the 1st covers the
residential South Side of Chicago, from 26th Street to 103rd, with an arm
extending into the city's southwest neighborhoods and a few nearby
industrial suburbs. The 1st has been a relatively compact district since its
creation, but the district's boundaries have gradually expanded in the past
few decades to adjust for declining populations in some of the area's most
economically distressed neighborhoods.
When the steel industry left the South Side in the 1970s, it decimated
the district's middle class and many black-owned businesses. Now the 1st is
home to some of the city's largest subsidized housing projects, and more
than 20 percent of the population lives in poverty.
The district still has several solidly middle-class black neighborhoods,
including Chatham and Avalon Park. The north end has seen young black
professionals move in and rehab old houses instead of leaving for the
suburbs.
The 1st has been represented by black congressmen since 1929. Its few
white voters live outside the city or in a few historically Irish
neighborhoods in the southwest. Although the district has a powerful
Democratic voting bloc that often battles the Daley Democrats, it also has
been plagued by low voter turnout.
Major Industry
Hospitals, higher education, manufacturing
Population
571,908 (1990)
Cities
Chicago (pt.), 516,419; Alsip (pt.), 13,485 (1990); Evergreen Park, 20,584
(1996)
People
100% urban; 14% age 65+ (ranks eighth of 20 in state; top third nationally);
35% married couples, 15% married couples with children; 18% college educated
(ranks 10 of 20 in state; middle third nationally); 62% white collar (ranks
eighth of 20 in state; top third nationally), 21% blue collar (ranks 16 of
20 in state; bottom third nationally) (1990)
Race
27% white, 70% black, 1% Asian; 4% Hispanic origin (1990)
Median Household Income
$24,140 (ranks 18 of 20 in state; bottom third nationally) (1990)
Unusual Features
U. of Chicago; National headquarters of Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition
and Operation PUSH; Comiskey Park, home of the Chicago White Sox.
Source: Congressional Quarterly (Updated April 1999)
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District 1
