From 2003 to early 2013 it extended into the city's southwest suburbs until reaching the border of Will County, and covered 97.84 square miles (253.4 km2), making it one of the 40 smallest districts in the U.S. (although there are four smaller districts in Illinois). The district had a population that was 65% African American, the highest percentage of any congressional district in the nation, but with redistricting that percentage has now declined to 52%. It includes the home of former PresidentBarack Obama.
The 1st is a majority-minority district, and has been since at least the 1920s. In 1929, it became the first district in the 20th century to send an African American to Congress when RepublicanOscar Stanton De Priest was elected to represent the district. The 1st has been represented by an African American Member of Congress ever since, the longest ongoing stretch of black representation for any seat in the House of Representatives. It has been held by a Democrat since 1935 when Arthur Mitchell, the first African American Democrat elected to Congress, took the seat as part of the New Deal Coalition. In 1949, district representative William Dawson became the first African American to chair a congressional committee.
The district is currently represented by Jonathan Jackson who was elected to succeed longtime incumbent Bobby Rush in 2022.[3]
Historical boundaries
The district was adjacent to the 2nd district to the east and south, the 7th district to the north, and the 3rd and 13th districts to the west, and also bordered the 11th district at its southwest corner. The district's northeast border followed Lake Michigan's shoreline for almost a mile.
The district was created following the 1830 U.S. census and came into existence in 1833, five months before Chicago was organized as a town; the state was previously represented in the U.S. House of Representatives with representative elected on an at-large basis. The district included Southwestern Illinois until 1853.[4][5] It included the state's northern edge until 1863.[6] Since that time, the district has included all or part of Cook County; since 1883 the population of the district has been primarily residing on Chicago's South Side. Historical populations reflected waves of immigration into the area: previous majority populations were ethnic Irish, German, and east European. Beginning in the mid-19th century, the Irish were the first to establish their physical and political control of the area within the city's South Side.
The current 1st district has a minority-majority population: 51.3% of the residents are African-American.[7] It has been represented in Congress by African Americans since 1929. Tens of thousands of African Americans moved to Chicago from the rural South in the Great Migration. They were confined by discrimination to the South Side of Chicago and gradually replaced ethnic whites who moved out to suburbs. At one point during the 1980s, more than 90% of the district's residents were black.[8]
While successive redistrictings have given the district a larger percentage of white voters, it is still one of the most reliably Democratic districts in the country; with a Cook Partisan Voting Index of D+28, it is the fourth most Democratic district of the eight that divide Chicago. The district has not sent a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives since 1935. After the civil rights movement gained support from national Democratic Party for major legislation to restore constitutional rights, including the franchise in the South, most African Americans shifted to support the Democratic Party. Democratic congressional candidates routinely receive over 80% of the vote here. The Democratic trend runs right through to the national level; since the 1950s, Democratic presidential candidates have usually carry the district with well over 70 percent of the vote, and have done no worse than 64 percent/
In the twentieth century after the Great Migration from the South and concentration of blacks on the South Side due to de facto residential segregation, the district became the nation's first with a black-majority population. Since the 1920s, it has included the central area of Chicago's South Side African-American community. Over 85% of the district's residents were black during the period from the 1950s through the 1980s, but redistricting since that time – which redrew the district lines with the goal of maintaining three Chicago districts with black populations exceeding 60% – has reduced the percentage of black residents in the district to 70% in the 1990s. The current figure is 65%. Outward migration has caused the South Side's population to decrease over the years, and the district was expanded geographically to the southwest to gain residents, particularly as the state's congressional delegation has been reduced in numbers due to population changes and reapportionment. The district, which covered only nine square miles in the 1950s, is now more than ten times that size. Nearly half its current area was added for the 2000s.
The district's population dropped by 27% in the 1950s,[9] and by 20% in both the 1970s and 1980s, due to outward migration for suburbanization and because of people leaving the area due to loss of jobs.[8][10] In redistricting after the 1990 U.S. census, the district was extended into the suburbs for the first time in 90 years. Chicago is home to 70% of the district's residents (down from 90% in the 1990s),[11] although roughly 60% of the district's area is outside the city border. The district's white population (almost 30% of its residents) is concentrated in the suburban areas and in a few Chicago neighborhoods such as Hyde Park.[12] The district's largest white ethnic groups are Irish (7.1%), German (6.2%), Polish (4.5%) and Italian (3.2%),[13] mirroring the demographics of the neighboring third and thirteenth congressional districts. There are also sizable Dutch, Swedish, Czech, Palestinian, Greek and Lithuanian populations in the area of Oak Forest, Orland Park and Tinley Park, the district's three largest suburbs.
The Kenwood-Hyde Park area for several decades had a significant Jewish community. Existing buildings attest to its history, as the former Kehilath Anshe Ma'ariv temple (its second location) has been the headquarters of Jesse Jackson's Operation PUSH/Rainbow Coalition since 1971 [1]. The area also includes a notable presence of Black Muslims and is the home of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan in Kenwood.
As of 2000, 38% of the district's adult residents were married.
As of the 2020 redistricting, the district will still be centered primarily around the Chicago's South Side, now with a greater portion of Will County, and a corner of northern Kankakee County.
Kankakee County is split between this district and the 2nd district. They are partitioned by North 5000E Rd, East 6000N Rd, Cardinal Drive, Durham St, East Armour Rd, East Marsile St, Bisallion Ave, and the Kankakee River. The 1st district takes in the municipalities of Manteno, northern Bourbannais, and part of Bradley.
Presidential election results
This table indicates how the district has voted in U.S. presidential elections; election results reflect voting in the district as it was configured at the time of the election, not as it is configured today. The candidate who received the most votes in the district is listed first; the candidate who won the election nationally is in CAPS, and the candidate who won the state of Illinois is indicated with a †.
This table indicates how the district has voted in recent statewide elections; election results reflect voting in the district as it is currently configured, not necessarily as it was at the time of these elections.
The departure of the steel industry, along with other manufacturing jobs from the South Side in recent decades, has created economic difficulties which the area is still trying to overcome. The district's median household income as of 2000, $37,222, trailed the national average by 11.4%. The unemployment rate (7.6%) was more than double the national rate, and nearly 20% of district residents were living in poverty. These problems are more pronounced within the Chicago portion of the district – 14 of the district's 18 suburbs had median household incomes over $40,000 as of 1999, with the six most affluent grouped in the southwest corner of the district. But black middle-class Chicago neighborhoods, such as Avalon Park and Chatham, have remained more stable, along with the more upscale Hyde Park-Kenwood area. Health care and higher education now constitute major economic sectors in the region.
U.S. Cellular Field, home of the Chicago White Sox, is less than 1,000 feet (300 m) west of the district's northwestern border. Other area cultural and entertainment attractions include the DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago's Washington Park, and First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Tinley Park; several square miles of Cook County Forest Preserves can be found on three sides of Oak Forest, and Oak Forest's Chicago Gaelic Park [2] is home to Irish Fest, held annually on Memorial Day weekend. Business and industrial presences in the district include Panduit Corporation [3], an electrical manufacturer in Tinley Park; Parco Foods [4], a cookie manufacturer in Blue Island; and Midwest Suburban Publishing, publisher of the SouthtownStar, in Tinley Park.
In addition to Washington Park and those sites associated with the University of Chicago and IIT, district locations on the National Register of Historic Places include:
Democrats routinely dominate politics in the district, with the main focus of competition being the party primary. Only twice since 1966 has a Republican candidate for Congress received over 20% of the vote,[29] and the Democratic nominee has topped 80% in every presidential race during that time. The district's expansion into the suburbs in the 1990s has incorporated a population that has voted Republican more often; Republican support has passed the 10% mark, and George W. Bush received 17% of the vote here in 2004. His was the best showing by a Republican presidential candidate in the district in over 40 years.
The district has since the early 1970s elected representatives who dissented from the city's Democratic establishment. William L. Dawson, U.S. Representative from 1943 to 1970, maintained the district's loyalty to Mayor Richard J. Daley. His successor Ralph Metcalfe initially continued that stance but publicly broke with Daley over an incident of police brutality in 1972, establishing a rift that persists. When Metcalfe died less than one month before the election in 1978, Democratic party officials named loyalist Bennett M. Stewart to take his place on the ballot, and Republicans replaced their candidate with A.A. "Sammy" Rayner, a former Democratic alderman. Despite the campaign support of Jackson for Rayner, Stewart won the election, although Rayner did get over 40% of the vote.[30][31]
Stewart served only one term and lost the 1980 Democratic primary to reform candidate Harold Washington. He left Congress in 1983 upon being elected mayor, after winning a contentious three-way primary with 37% of the vote. His successor in Congress was union organizer Charles Hayes. Hayes lost the 1992 primary to Bobby Rush by a 42–39% margin following the House banking scandal, in which it was revealed that Hayes had 716 overdrafts on his congressional checking account.[32] Rush had previously lost the 1988 and 1990 primaries to Hayes.
Rep. Bobby Rush
Rush was a co-founder of the Illinois Black Panthers in 1968, establishing a program for free breakfasts for poor children and a clinic for sickle cell anemia screenings.[33] He served as a Chicago alderman from 1983 until his election to Congress in 1993, and he was an ally of Mayor Washington in the Council Wars of the 1980s. While in Congress, Rush consistently voted with the Democratic position over 90% of the time. When he did break from the party, he usually took positions more liberal than other Democrats, rather than taking positions held by Republicans.[34] Rush ran against incumbent Richard M. Daley in the 1999 election for Mayor of Chicago. Despite the support of fellow congressmen Jesse Jackson Jr. and Danny Davis, he was backed by only three out of 50 aldermen and lost the election by a margin of 72–28%. He had a 55–45% advantage among black voters. In the 2000 congressional primary Rush emerged with a 61–30% win over challenger Barack Obama resulting in Obama's only electoral defeat.[35]
1843–1853 Reduced in size, and now included eleven counties: Alexander, Bond, Clinton, Jackson, Madison, Monroe, Perry, Randolph, St. Clair, Union and Washington counties.[5]
1853–1863 Shifted north to cover the eight counties along the state's northern edge: Boone, Carroll, Jo Daviess, Lake, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson and Winnebago counties.[6]Ulysses S. Grant was a district resident in 1860–61 during the period when he was out of the Army, working in his family's store in Galena, and he became acquainted with Congressman Elihu B. Washburne; Washburne became his political mentor and sponsor, and eventually became Grant's first Secretary of State.
1863–1873 During this decade, beginning during the Civil War, consisted of all of Cook County.[39] Industrialist Cyrus McCormick lost the 1864 House election as the Democratic candidate.[40] Later during this period, the district was devastated by the Great Chicago Fire in October 1871.
1873–1883 Restructured and now included DuPage County, the thirteen townships comprising the southern half of Cook County (Bloom, Bremen, Calumet, Hyde Park, Lake, Lemont, Lyons, Orland, Palos, Rich, Riverside, Thornton, Worth), and the entire South Side and part of the West side of Chicago. The Chicago portion of the district began downtown and extended south to 39th Street (now Pershing Road) east of the Chicago River and south of the river and the Illinois and Michigan Canal, with its western boundary being Western Avenue; on the west side, the district included the area between 16th Street on the north and the river and canal on the south, with the city's western boundary then being Crawford Avenue (now Pulaski Road).[41]
1883–1895 Remained identical to its previous configuration, except that it no longer included DuPage County or the portion of Chicago west of Clark Street between 16th and 39th Streets.[42] Illinois gained two additional representatives following the 1890 census, but they were elected on an at-large basis for the 1893–1895 term before redistricting occurred, and the previous decade's districting remained in effect.[43]
1895–1903 Included the seven townships in southeastern Cook County (Bloom, Bremen, Calumet, Orland, Rich, Thornton, Worth), and the portion of Chicago's South Side bordered on the north by 26th Street, and on the west by Wentworth Avenue from 26th to 39th Streets and by State Street from 39th to 63rd Streets before following 63rd Street west to the city's border with Lyons Township (then at Cicero Avenue).[44]
1903–1949 Confined to the city of Chicago for the first time, and included downtown and the area east of Wentworth to 43rd Street, also reaching west to include Armour Square as well as most of Bridgeport northeast of 33rd and Halsted Streets.[45] Illinois's districts were not redrawn until 1947, taking effect for the 1948 elections.[46] In 1928, Oscar De Priest became the first African American elected to Congress in the 20th century.
1949–1963 Included that part of Chicago bounded on the north by the river; on the east by the lake to Pershing Road and by Cottage Grove Avenue from Pershing to 71st Street and South Chicago Avenue; on the south by Marquette Road from State Street to South Chicago Avenue, following that southeast to 71st and Cottage Grove; and on the west by Wallace Street (from the river to 25th Street), Canal Street (25th to 31st Street), Wentworth (31st to 43rd Street), the railroad between State and Wentworth (43rd to 59th Street) and State Street (59th to Marquette).[47] The same boundaries were maintained in the redistricting after 1950.[48]
1963–1967 Included that part of Chicago between 31st and 99th Streets bounded on the west by Wentworth (31st to Garfield Boulevard), the railroad 1/4-mile east of Halsted (Garfield to 59th), Halsted (59th to 63rd), State Street (63rd to 83rd) and Stewart Avenue (83rd to 99th), and bounded on the east by the lake (31st to 46th), Cottage Grove (46th to 65th) and Stony Island Avenue (65th to 99th).[49]
1967–1973 Additional redistricting for the 1967–1969 term. All of the district's previous territory was retained, but it was extended further north as far as Cermak Road, with its western boundary being the railroad between State and Wentworth (Cermak to 28th Street) and then Wentworth (28th to Garfield). In addition, a small area east of Woodlawn Avenue between 46th and 47th Streets was added.[50]
1973–1983 Included that part of Chicago between 31st and 103rd Streets bounded on the west by King Drive (31st to 35th), State (35th to Pershing), the railroad 1/4-mile west of State (Pershing to Garfield), King Drive (Garfield to Marquette), Yale Avenue (Marquette to 69th), Harvard Avenue (69th to 70th), Stewart (70th to 71st), Halsted (71st to 95th), the railroad 1/2-mile east of Halsted (95th to 99th) and State (99th to 103rd), and on the east by the lake (31st to 71st Street/South Shore Drive), Yates Boulevard (71st to 73rd), Jeffery Boulevard (73rd to 75th) and Stony Island, continuing onto the Calumet Expressway (75th to 103rd, with minor variation at 95th).[51]
1983–1993 The only remaining district entirely within the city of Chicago, and included that area between Cermak Road and 103rd Street bounded on the west by Federal Street (Cermak to 25th), the railroad 1/4-mile west of State (25th to 35th), the railroad 1/2-mile east of Halsted (35th to 42nd and 43rd to 47th), Stewart (42nd to 43rd), Morgan Street (47th to 48th), Racine Avenue (48th to Garfield), Peoria Street (Garfield to 56th), Green Street (56th to 57th) and Halsted (57th to 103rd), and on the east by the lake (Cermak to 73rd) and Yates (73rd to 103rd).[52]
^ abcdeVote totals from 1852 to 1868 are based on cumulative county totals as listed in Illinois: Historical and Statistical (1892), John Moses, Chicago: Fergus Printing Co., pp. 1208–1209.
^ abCongressional District Data Book: Districts of the 87th Congress, p. 17.
^Barone, Michael; Grant Ujifusa; Douglas Matthews (1977). The Almanac of American Politics 1978. New York City: E. P. Dutton. p. 225. ISBN0-87690-255-7.
^Sharp, J. Michael (2006). Directory of Congressional Voting Scores and Interest Group Ratings. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press. pp. 1363–64. ISBN1-56802-970-5.
^Parsons, Stanley B.; Michael J. Dubin; Karen Toombs Parsons (1990). United States Congressional Districts, 1883–1913. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. pp. 23–27. ISBN0-313-26482-1.
^Congressional District Atlas: 103rd Congress of the United States. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Bureau of the Census. 1993. pp. Illinois-1, 5, 25, 28–33. ISBN0-16-041689-2.
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