Congressman's Son Fired for Sexual Misconduct

By Margaret Lyons in News on Oct 2, 2007 3:45PM

Jeffrey Rush, son of Congressman Bobby Rush, was fired from his job as an assistant supervisor of security at the Fox Valley Adult Transition Center following allegations that he had sex with two female inmates.

Fox Valley ATC is Level 8 security — that's the least severe, on a scale from 1 (maximum) to 8 (transitional), and it's not uncommon for inmates to leave the facility for work, counseling, school, or as a reward for good behavior. According to the ST's source, "Between April and June of this year, Jeffrey Rush allegedly met and had sex with 'at least two' inmates who were granted passes." In Illinois, that's custodial sexual misconduct. The law states "[a] person is deemed incapable of consent, for purposes of this [law], when he or she is a probationer, parolee, releasee, or inmate in custody of a penal system." So legally, there's no such thing as consensual sex between an inmate (probationer, parolee, etc) and anyone responsible for the "care, control, or supervision" of someone in the penal system. For more on sexual abuse against women in the Illinois Department of Corrections, click on Illinois. We're waiting to hear back from the IDOC with more up-to-date information.

That part of the story is cut and dry. Not so straightforward? How big a role Rep. Rush played in getting his son hired (ST says, "Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff confirmed Rep. Rush persuaded the administration to hire his son") and how that connects to the constantly scandal-plagued Ro-Blag, who "has a close political bond to [Rep] Rush." Wow, another hiring-practice scandal in the Blagojevich administration. You know what that means: Drink!