Rushing to Judgement: Bobby Rush has traded his activist past for a seat in Congress.

Rep. Bobby Rush's (D-Ill.) public life is synonymous with battles for black Chicago's economic and political liberty. More than 20 years ago, he was a leader in the Windy City's local Black Panther Party. Since 1992, he has served the 1st Congressional District, which comprises parts of Chicago's South and West Sides and many of the city's poorest residents.

Rush sees no contradiction in moving from street activist to congressman. As early as the 1960s, he aspired to enter politics if the option ever presented itself. "I am consistent in working on behalf of [black] people, and my move into politics was gradual."

Rush was a city councilman for eight years before his initial congressional victory. Now Rush, 49, is courted by people who want to do more than fix potholes. As the only Illinois Democrat on the House Commerce Committee, Chicago area business lobbyists crowd his door daily.

The reasons are clear. This year the Commerce Committee will consider, among other things, utility deregulation and amendments to the Superfund. Rush also sits on the subcommittees on energy and power and on telecommunications and finance.

Rush's Panther past doesn't faze lobbyists like Rodney Smith, director of federal relations for Ameritech. "From our perspective, it is great to have an Illinoisan on the [telecommunications] committee. We are in a highly competitive business, and more than 2,000 of our employees live in his district."

Such supporters prompt Rush to believe that companies are primed to assist his district. He cites examples of Ameritech supplying computers to schools and First Chicago Bank promising to make more loans in his district.

Rush concedes that negotiating with lobbyists is tough, but it seems that he can handle it. "When they come to sit down and discuss their interests with me, I reach into my pocket and bring out my list [of pet projects]. Then we see where there are areas of mutual support and agreement."

His voting record has been somewhat unpredictable. To protect U.S. jobs, Rush voted against the North American Free Trade Agreement. But in 1995, he supported a securities litigation reform bill endorsed in the Contract With America and justified the vote by saying when firms fear litigation they hire fewer workers.

Dianne Pinderhughes doesn't see a contradiction here. The political science professor and director of the African American studies department at the University of Illinois says Rush is doing "just what a 1990s Black Panther would do. He's trying to manage in a changed political environment and knows that the shavings off the eyebrows of a major corporation can do more for the inner city than most public institutions ever will."

The plainspoken congressman stresses the need to build the finance base within the black community. "Only when African Americans own businesses, be they ma and pa shops or megasize companies, will they be able to withstand the winds of [political] change that sweep periodically across America."