Chicago City Wire

Pastor Chris Butler is running a family-focused campaign for Illinois' 1st Congressional District.

“I’m running for United States Congress in the 1st District of Illinois as a Democrat," Butler told Chicago City Wire. "I am running because I really think that we need a representative in Congress who is going to focus 100 percent on empowering and protecting our families.”

Butler is a former Obama campaign organizer. As a member of the Chicago Peace Campaign, he organized churches against violent crime. He has also served as an organizer for school choice advocates A+ Illinois and New Schools for Chicago. He runs a public affairs consulting firm and is the pastor of a church.

“That is what I have spent my life [doing],” he added. “Working families, in my view, are the bedrock of strong community and the backbone of a thriving economy. We must do our politics in a way that does not get lost in the distractions ... of division and ideological fights, but really focus on protecting and empowering our families.”

“Questions at the national level shouldn't be ‘How do we make everyone the same?’ Rather ‘How do we create environments where everyone can thrive in their respective places?’ so that we have a respect and a regard for one another. We can be different and yet not divided.” Butler recently posted on Twitter.

For him, unity is not about asking “people to shrink back and hide, but rather to lean in and seek understanding. Unity is bold, hard-fought, and vulnerable, but our future is worth it." Butler is one of 21 candidates vying to replace incumbent Bobby Rush. Rush has been an elected public official since 1993 but decided not to seek re-election to the U.S. House.

The 1st Congressional district  includes much of Cook County, the South Side of Chicago, and continues southwest to Joliet.