Illinois’ 1st District contains much of the South Side of Chicago, and extends Southwest to include many suburbs in Cook and Will counties. The district is 99.0% urban, and is majority African American (51.3%), followed by White (40.6%) and Hispanic (9.8%). The median household income is $46,458, and 25.6% of adults have graduated from college.

The Democratic candidate and incumbent is Bobby Rush, who has represented the district since 1993. Rush has received greater than 70% of the vote in all reelection races. The Republican candidate is Jimmy Lee Tillman, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for the district in 2012, 2014, and 2016. This district votes reliably Democratic, and has given 80% of the vote or higher to the Democratic presidential candidate in every election for the past 30 years.