Rep. Bobby Rush Paid Family Over $100K From Campaign Funds in 2016

Wellness center associated with church Rush founded also received more than $2 million in government grants last year

Rep. Bobby Rush (D., Ill.) made payments to four family members that combined to more than $100,000 during the 2016 election cycle, campaign finance records show.

A wellness center associated with the church the congressman founded also received more than $2 million in government grants last year.

Rep. Rush, who was first elected to Congress in 1992, made $50,000 in payments to his wife, Carolyn, during the 2016 cycle for “consulting fees.” This was not the first time Carolyn has received money from the campaign committee.

Since 2002, the year Carolyn first appeared on the committee’s payroll, she has been the top recipient of expenditures from the campaign numerous times and has since collected more than $550,000 in payments from her husband’s campaign.

Marlon Rush, Rep. Rush’s brother, was paid $34,082 throughout the course of the 2016 campaign to act as his campaign manager. Rush, who defeated Barack Obama by more than 31 percent during a Democratic primary in Chicago’s 1st congressional district in 2000, has faced no real challenge since being elected in the early 1990s. Rush defeated his Republican challenger by nearly 50 points in the 2016 election.

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