His district was located on the South Side of Chicago and was the highest proportion of African-Americans in any congressional district in the nation at 65%. The Illinois General Assembly redistricted the area after the 2010 census. Rush holds the distinction of being the only politician to defeat Barack Obama in an election which came in the 2000 Democratic primary for Illinois’ 1st congressional district. Rush founded the Illinois chapter of the Black Panthers and was a civil rights activist in the 1960s.