Decision ‘ big plus’ for Rahm but ‘ could open the field’
Despite humble origins, Gutierrez among wealthier congressmen
Mayor Rahm Emanuel was not around when the Luis andChuy Show made its debut Tuesday. But wherever hewas, the mayor had to be smiling inside.
Time will tell whether Emanuel keeps on smiling right on through the 2019 mayoral election.
For the second time in 10weeks, the surprise retirement of a Democratic heavyweight has eliminated a potential mayoral challenger.
On Sept. 15, Attorney General Lisa Madigan decided not to seek re- election but assured Emanuel shewould not run formayor in 2019, a position a top aide reaffirmed on Tuesday.
Now, U. S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez is calling it quits and throwing his support to County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia as his successor. That removes fromthe mayoral field the candidate who managed to force Emanuel into Chicago’s first- ever mayoral runoff four years ago— even after getting a late start and being outspent by a 4- to- 1 margin.
“That’s a big plus for the mayor. Chuy had name recognition after the last campaign,” said Bill Daley, who succeeded Emanuel as WhiteHouse chief of staff.
A Democratic strategist, who asked to remain anonymous, warned that Emanuel’s political gain may be short- lived.
“It could open the field for a credible, well- funded black candidate like Lori Lightfoot or Larry Rogers or someone like Bridget Gainer,” the Democratic strategist said.
“Garcia would have had the Chicago Teachers Union and SEIU all locked up. Without him, it opens the door for others to step up who would not otherwise have run for fear of dividing the anti- Emanuel vote. Be careful what you wish for because youmight eliminate one problem and create three others.”
Gainer said challenging Emanuel is “definitely something I’m thinking about.” But she refused to say whether the race was more or less likely now that Garcia, her longtime ally on the County Board, is out of the picture.
“I haven’t made a decision, but certainly it’ll be something I think about because I respect him a ton,” she said.
“It’s still a year off. A lot can happen between nowand then. Some people will enter. Some people will leave.”
Lightfoot, the newly reappointed Police Board president who has been an outspoken critic of Emanuel, could not be reached for comment.
Fired Police Supt. Garry McCarthy called Garcia’s exit from the mayoral field an interesting development that would not “change the equation” on whether he runs or doesn’t run.
“I’mnot so much looking at the rest of the field. I’m looking atmy positioning andwhether or not it’s something that is likely to succeed,” McCarthy said.
“I’m kind of competing against myself. Who runs matters. But I’m trying to figure out if the
electorate would be supportive of a person like me with my message. Once I figure that out, then I’ll figure out who the competition is.”
McCarthy pointed to polling done by his supporters that shows Emanuel’s “satisfaction rate in the 20s and 30s.”
An Emanuel strategist said the mayor’s own polling shows he is finally “abovewater”— with a favorability rating above 50 percent— after a frenzied attempt to court Hispanics and rehabilitate an image with black voters that took a beating after the court- ordered release of video showing a Chicago Police officer fatally shooting Laquan McDonald.
An alder man who has been somewhat critical of Emanuel argued that the mayor has no clearly identifiable political base after struggling to control violent crime and pushing through an avalanche of tax increases to solve the city’s pension crisis.
A colleague who has been largely supportive of Emanuel said the mayor’s political fate may ultimately rest on whether Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke is convicted of murdering McDonald.
“I just worry about where this trial is headed and what happens if he’s acquitted,” the alderman said.
“I don’t think anybody’s political fate should be based on amurder trial. But the fact that he’s only chargedwith first- degree murder doesn’t give the jury any leeway. If he gets off, it’ll impact the mayor and the entire City Council.” The Emanuel camp isn’t thinking that far ahead. For now, they’re just happy that, as the rock band Queen put it, “Another one bites the dust.”
“Mayor of Chicago is one of the greatest jobs in American politics . . . And Rahm Emanuel is the guy in office now who will be very difficult to beat,” the Emanuel operative said. “You’re not gonna find a lot of candidates who have his profile.’’
“IT COULD OPEN THE FIELD FOR A CREDIBLE, WELL- FUNDED BLACK CANDIDATE . . . BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR BECAUSE YOUMIGHT ELIMINATE ONE PROBLEM AND CREATE THREE OTHERS.” A Democratic strategist
The final chapter of Luis Gutierrez’s 2013 autobiography was titled “Too Puerto Rican for America, Too American For Puerto Rico.”
As Gutierrez announced his plans to retire after a quartercentury as a congressman from Illinois, the Chicago- born, left- leaning politician said he would continue to have enough time, energy and affection to split between here and his ancestral homeland.
Gutierrez told the Chicago Sun- Times on Tuesday that he and his wife bought a home for more than $ 1 million last year in Dorado, on the northern coast of Puerto Rico. He said they’re renting out the property now, but it will “probably be our house that we live in” at some point.
“I’m going to be active in the politics of reconstruction of my island, because I love that island,” he said, noting that he had a plane ticket to leave Sunday for his fourth trip to Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria devastated the tropical U. S. commonwealth in September.
“I love my people,” Gutierrez added. “I’m committed to them.”
Entering what would be his last term representing parts of Chicago and its near- western suburbs, Gutierrez had become far wealthier than the average member of the U. S. House, according to an analysis of public records by the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington, D. C.
Gutierrez, who turns 64 next month, reported investments worth a total of between $ 1,325,022 and $ 2,975,000 at the end of 2015. That amount, which did not include his home in his 4th Congressional District, ranked 147th among the 435 House members, the Center for Responsive Politics said.
He cashed in more than $ 1 million of those assets in 2016, lowering his total investments to somewhere between about $ 662,000 and $ 1.56 million, according to his most recent disclosure statement, which was filed in August.
Gutierrez said that money went toward the June 2016 purchase of the new house in Puerto Rico for $ 1.1 million.
In one of his recent visits to Puerto Rico, he met with the mayor of Dorado, and in social media, Gutierrez posted a photo of himself helping unload hurricane relief at the town, which is 15 miles from San Juan.
His new home there came through the disaster unscathed, Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez — who is paid $ 174,000 a year as a congressman — said he’s been smart with his personal finances but always acted appropriately as an elected official.
“I’ve been fighting for people, doing my job, and ain’t nobody ever questioned my integrity,” he said, predicting that this article would be a “negative story.”
For years, Gutierrez invested heavily in Chicago’s residential real estate market, moving repeatedly as he made hundreds of thousands of dollars buying and selling homes in the city.
Assuming Gutierrez completes this final term in Congress in January 2019, he would have served 25 years in Washington and be eligible for a full pension of about $ 67,860 per year.
Before becoming a congressman, Gutierrez was an alderman representing the 26th Ward, the heart of the city’s Puerto Rican community.
His Gutierrez for Congress political committee has paid his wife, Soraida, nearly $ 400,000 for fundraising and for serving as treasurer and manager for the campaign fund during the past eight years, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Gutierrez often has highlighted the long road between his humble origins and where he ended up as a political power player.
“After all, I’m the Puerto Rican son of a cabdriver and a factory worker, a kid who chopped up pig innards and swept the floor of an unsuccessful restaurant, a guy who had to drive a cab on the night shift to make ends meet,” he wrote in his autobiography, “Still Dreaming: My Journey fromthe Barrio to Capitol Hill.”