Dem Rep. Bobby Rush Sued for $1 Million to Collect Unpaid Loan for Church He Founded

Democratic representative Bobby Rush is being sued for $1 million after failing to make payments on a loan he received for a church he founded in his home district in Illinois.

A wellness center linked to the church has also collected more than $2.6 million in taxpayer-funded government grants in 2017 and more than $17 million in grants since 2008, according to records.

Rush founded the Beloved Community Christian Church, a nondenominational Christian church, in Chicago in 2002 with the intent of helping disadvantaged people in his community.

"I founded a church in Englewood, one of Chicago's poorest and most fragile neighborhoods, and named it Beloved Community Christian Church," Rush wrote in a 2011 op-ed. "The church, once the site of a Black Panther breakfast program for children, now stands in tribute to Dr. King's vision of the power of community. A social service center, a health center and an after school robotics program are also part of the church's mission to care for people."

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