Crooked Chicago Pol Endorses Bloomberg

If this was still the 1960's-- when Bobby Rush was a co-founder of the Chicago chapter of the Black Panthers-- you might scratch your head and wonder how he could have endorsed a multi-billionaire former Republican mayor of New York who instituted a stop and frisk policy aimed directly at African-Americans. But over five decades have gone by and selling his endorsement to the highest bidder is exactly what anyone who's been paying attention would expect from uber-corrupt Chicago Congressman Bobby Rush today.

Lynn Sweet covered the endorsement announcement for the Chicago Sun Times this week and noted that Bloomberg, whose only endorsements have been bought-and-paid for, named Rush a national campaign co-chairman. "Rush," she wrote, told her that he was "impressed by Bloomberg’s approach to the 'economic discrimination in the black community' [and that] he will serve as a surrogate for Bloomberg and have 'influence into strategies.'" Rush is the fourth House member to endorse Bloomberg. The others are ex-Republican Harley Rouda (New Dem-CA), Blue Dog chieftain Stephanie Murphy (FL) and Max Rose (Blue Dog-NY), exactly the kind of corruption-oriented, right-of-center money-grubbers you would expect to gravitate to Bloomberg.

Blue America has endorsed Robert Emmons, Jr., the progressive young reformer who is taking on Rush this cycle. We asked him how he sees the endorsement. "Congressman Rush, like many Democrats at the time," he reminded us, "voted in favor of the 1994 Crime Bill. Also like many Democrats who voted for the bill, he later apologized for doing so. But nothing about his apology rings true after endorsing a Chicago mayoral candidate who wanted to use drones to monitor black and brown communities around Chicago, and now the presidential candidate responsible for implementing stop and frisk, Michael Bloomberg."

Emmons continued: "For months we have called attention to Rush’s corporate loyalty, and his endorsement to Mike Bloomberg follows a clear pattern. If Congressman Rush were to support a candidate because he truly believed that individual would work to empower our community, I would have no issue with it. But he has a history of moving where the money moves, and this is business as usual. There is nothing that myself and my team are more committed to than actual reform in our community, and we’ll keep fighting for Medicare for All, a Green New Deal and Restorative Justice. We’ll continue to support Bernie Sanders, a presidential candidate who supports true progressive reform through an agenda with far more to offer our district than Bloomberg. #NotMeUs #WeAreTheSolution"

If you'd like to help Emmons raise money to combat the Bloomberg-Rush machine, please consider tapping on the 2020 Chicagoland thermometer above and contributing what you can to his campaign.

The Good E-Mail Series: Robert Emmons, Jr.

Robert Emmons is running for the South Side Chicago seat (IL-01) occupied by entrenched, corrupt careerist Bobby Rush. A grassroots activist without a rolodex that rains money, Emmons is doing his best to raise campaign cash the old-fashioned way, explaining why he has something to offer to the voters in his district. He sent this one out yesterday, under the subject line The price of your zip code? 30 years of your life:

A recent Economist article revealed that a ride on the 23-mile, north-to-south “L” train Red Line in Chicago corresponds with a staggering statistic: life expectancy varies by 30 years depending on what end of Red Line you’re on. That’s how disparate our income levels are in Chicago-- a disparity that literally deprives people in the poorer areas of Chicago of 30 years compared to people in the more prosperous neighborhoods.

The statistics are no surprise to me. Our campaign focuses heavily on the disparities and injustices responsible for the struggles in our community. When Blue America, a progressive organization that’s endorsed us, asked me to weigh in on The Economist piece, I mentioned the loss of my best friend, who died of gun violence near the lower half of that Red Line route.

Don’t let any more people become a statistic.

As I told Blue America, his death was preventable: “It was preventable with a living wage, Universal pre-k, Medicare-for-All, and a Green New Deal. We must approach the epidemic that is gun violence as a public health crisis, and then eradicate the disease once and for all.”

Blue America sees what I see here in IL-01 and across the country: not only do we need to oust Republican lawmakers, we also need to oust apathetic Democrats who’ve let our communities suffer on their watch. That’s why Blue America has endorsed our campaign and three other Chicago-area progressives. And all of us are running against Democrat incumbents who aren’t getting the job done.

Folks, getting the job done is literally a matter of life and death. Help me dismantle the system that is literally responsible for the early deaths of people in our most vulnerable communities.

In solidarity,

—REJr

Short and to the point-- just the way a fundraising letter should be. Please consider contributing to Robert's campaign by clocking on the Chicagoland thermometer just above on the right.

Can Robert Emmons Do For Chicago's South Side What Obama Was Unable To Accomplish?

In the 1960s, Bobby Rush, now a 72 year old establishment congressman from Chicago's South Side (and the only person to ever beat Barack Obama in an election), founded the Chicago chapter of the Black Panthers. He completely abandoned radical politics in 1974 after his ill-fated run for the city council-- and never looked back. By the time Rush got to Congress in 1993-- by primarying an incumbent-- he was a self-described "deeply religious born-again Christian" and closer to a conservative Democrat than a progressive. In 2015 he endorsed Rahm Emanuel in his primary against Chuy Garcia. He rates high on the congressional corruption scale, having long funneled campaign money to his family-- like paying his wife $50,000 as a "consultant." He was caught taking bribes from multimillionaire businessman Joseph Stroud in return for helping Stroud's business interests in the telecom sector overseen by Rush's committee. Starting last year 15% of Rush's congressional salary is being garnished to repay more than $1 million he owes on a delinquent loans. And today, in one of the bluest districts in the country, Rush has a mediocre 89.09 Progressive Punch crucial vote score-- and a "B" rating. He has refused to co-sponsor AOC's Green New Deal resolution. His status quo politics doesn't make sense in IL-01, a district that craves fundamental change. And now he has a serious primary challenger: Robert Emmons, Jr. Please read his guest post below and consider contributing to his campaign by clicking on the new Chicagoland congressional thermometer below.





Let’s Give Our Youth A Reason To Trust
by Robert Emmons, Jr.
candidate for Congress, IL-01

My job as a social innovator requires me to be curious about everything. In social innovation, the question, “why” or “how” become tools rather than barriers. Those questions allow the observer to begin to truly build an understanding. One of the biggest mistakes you can make in the design process is to allow guesses to guide decisions. That is why before deciding to run for US Congress in Illinois’ First district, I decided to spend three month asking questions and building trust with my community.

Last weekend, while collecting petitions in Woodlawn, I met a group of young people who were hesitant to provide their signatures. Most of those who decline to sign our petitions might be in a rush or simply not interested giving me their support. In most cases, trust doesn’t play a major factor in their decision.

When this group of individuals declined to sign my petitions, that wasn’t the case. They weren’t telling me they didn’t have the time or didn’t care for politics. In fact, it was the opposite. What they wanted was an explanation as to why I should be trusted. Simply telling them who I was, and what I hoped to achieve while in office, wasn’t going to cut it.

What followed was an extemporaneous town hall.

From healthcare (how to pay for it) to the Climate Crisis, I answered their questions and addressed their concerns, each of them as valid as the last. By the end of it, I found that I was able to alleviate much of the concerns they had about politicians. One of them had recommended a book to me on the interconnectedness of major issues in our communities. Another young woman happened to be the niece of one of our board members; she went went so far as to sign up to volunteer. Another offered to have me speak to his group at COAL. And the last individual wouldn’t sign the petition at all, but I believe she went home and donated $20.20 after listening in and perhaps googling my campaign issues page.

This event reminded me of my own behavior not so long ago. I saw the same level of distrust that I had myself for so many years. But at the same time, I saw hope in the absence of trust. While each of the individuals I spoke with was skeptical of politicians, they still believed that our political system could solve big problems.

Our youth aren’t lazy or apathetic towards politics, they’re skeptical of an unjust system.

It is upon us, those who seek the support of our youth, to regain that trust. Whether or not we are incumbents or challengers, we must acknowledge that this is a new time, a new moment in our country’s political trajectory. Saying that our youth-- those who comprise the very future of our nation-- are uninterested in politics is not only false, but disrespects legitimate grievances towards a system that has been built over generations.

In an uncharted political landscape, we now have the chance to renew that trust in our youth. We can show them that the vision we have for a better community is no different than their own. I’m proud of those who do not just sign our petition. They do not indicate a generation that is losing interest, but one that values accountability.

Prior to running for Office, I also worked in Civic Engagement with the Obama Foundation as a Community Leader (consultant). The key to the lessons that I taught was an orientation to civics that I had learned from my grandmother. She taught me that civic engagement wasn’t just about voting, it was about holding our elected officials accountable each and everyday; it’s about working to make our community stronger and more resilient.

I love earning the trust of my future constituents. That constant curiosity keeps me honest and authentic. So when I tell folks that I am a Gun Violence Prevention Advocate, Social Innovator and nonprofit leader who is running for congress to make this the last generation to be faced with everyday gun violence, I pray that I continue to hear the question “why.” And I will continue to be honored to answer that call.

Marie Newman: "Robert Emmons is a truly perfect fit for his district: compassionate, bright, incisive and in complete alignment with the residents on top issues. I've campaigned with him side by side and believe in him 100%"

First Contact: Robert Emmons, Jr. (IL-01)

I'll have to ask Mr. Emmons how he thinks that turned out

Blue America is at the very beginning stages of getting to know-- sounds so much better than "vetting," right?-- Robert Emmons, the progressive Democrat challenging longtime Chicago Congressman Bobby Rush. When he first e-mailed and asked for our endorsement, I was super-slammed with the whistleblower papers being released so I responded with this e-mail, thinking it might give me some breathing space to postpone a phone conversation by a few days so I could catch up. "Nice to hear from you, Robert.," I wrote. "Before we talk on the phone, can you tell me the case you're making against Rush and how you sense that is going over in the community?" The other possibility with a request like that-- a telling one-- is that a candidate doesn't have it together to respond at all. Almost half the candidates who request endorsements don't have what it takes to carry out a simple task like that. It saves me a lot of time and energy because then I know right off that bat that there's nothing we can do to help them.

But not Emmons. He was ON IT-- and FAST! Here's his response:

Here is a sample of our case:

We respect Bobby Rush, but he has failed our community for far too long. When Barack Obama ran against Bobby Rush in 2000, he said that Bobby Rush is out of touch and represents a reactive politics. We couldn’t agree more, and 20 years has made the situation even more dire.

I want to point out that we have a vision for the district that goes beyond politics. We want to make this the last generation to be faced with everyday gun violence by addressing the root causes. This is not an issue that Bobby doesn’t care about. This is an issue that we have disagreements on how to solve. Militarizing and criminalizing our community is not the answer. Addressing poverty and environmental racism’s is the answer. Our campaign is predicated on the belief that we are the solution together; that the solutions to our community’s most pressing needs are in the minds and hearts of those who have been hurt by the laws designed to hold them down.

  Issues:

• Bobby Rush voted for the disastrous 1994 crime bill. This further exacerbated the vicious cycle of poverty and hence violence in communities of color across the nation.
• 25 years after the Crime Bill passage, he still supports local policies that are “tough on crime”. For example he supports proposals of 50 million dollars on drone surveillance on the Southside of Chicago. Evidence has proven this strategy to be ineffective and a terrible use of resources. This means that even though he has apologized for the 94’ crime bill, he hasn’t learned from the impacts it has had.
• He has always taken money from the fossil fuel industry. This is while we in the First’ have some of the highest percentages of people with asthma in the nation(including myself).
• He sits on the committee on Energy and Commerce. He called the Green New Deal a smash and grab. This isn’t surprising due to his relationship with the fossil fuel industry.
• He has one of the poorest run constituent services. Electeds around the district have said that they can’t work with him.
• He has spurred division in our district. More recently in the Chicago Mayoral elections.
• Our District is ready for reinvigoration. We have felt an energy in the district that we haven’t felt in our lives.
• We have built a multi-generational coalition across the district.
• Our campaign has 40xs more small dollar contributions than Bobby Rush. We have proven to be about the people.
• We received endorsements from public officials, YoungPac, People For Bernie Sanders, and more recently Brand New Congress.
• We have already started working with elected officials to make our district stronger. 

Our campaign has received support from folks in 43 states.

I hope this helps to begin. Please let us know if you’d like to discuss these points further. 

And that was good enough to set up a phone call so we can begin the process of making sure Mr. Emmons will make a member of Congress we know we will be able to count on to do the right things for IL-01 and for the country. After all, these congressional candidates wind up as senators and governors and cabinet secretaries and even presidents. We have to make sure we're not going to wind up with some fast-talking crook like Joe Biden. I promise to let you know how it goes. So far my gut is telling me, we have a good one here. Here's the video he released on his campaign site; sounds good, right?