January 21, 2004

BY STEVE NEAL SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Ill.) is endorsing millionaire investor Blair Hull in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate.

By forging an alliance with Hull, the state's only Hispanic congressman is going against Gery Chico, the first Hispanic to make a serious bid for the U.S. Senate from Illinois.

Gutierrez, 50, chairman of task forces on immigration for House Democrats and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, is expected to make his announcement on Thursday and plans to be active in the Hull campaign. He has already taped a television commercial for Hull that will soon begin airing on Spanish-language stations.

If elected to the Senate, Hull vows to work with Gutierrez in seeking to reform the nation's immigration policies. Gutierrez is sponsoring legislation that would grant legal status within three years to undocumented immigrants who entered the country prior to Feb. 6, 2001.

Hull, 61, whose personal fortune is estimated at more than $400 million, is planning to spend as much as $40 million to capture the Senate seat of the retiring GOP independent Peter Fitzgerald.

Gutierrez is the second congressman to support Hull. Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.) endorsed Hull last summer.

Others in the Democratic U.S. Senate field include state Comptroller Dan Hynes, state Sen. Barack Obama (D-Chicago), County Treasurer Maria Pappas, Chico, health care executive Joyce Washington, and radio personality Nancy Skinner.

Obama has the support of four of the state's nine Democratic U.S. representatives: Danny K. Davis, Lane Evans, Jesse Jackson Jr., and Jan Schakowsky. Hynes is backed by Representatives. William O. Lipinski and Jerry Costello. Rep. Rahm Emanuel said that he is remaining neutral in the primary.

Gutierrez, though respectful of Chico's candidacy, thinks that Hull has a better chance to win and made a pragmatic choice. Hull is already starting to show some movement in the polls, and he is spending more money on his campaign than anyone in the history of Illinois.

If past campaigns are any indication, the Gutierrez endorsement may have impact.

Two years ago, in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, Rod Blagojevich finished a disappointing third in the city of Chicago and in Cook County. But with substantial help from Gutierrez, Blagojevich swept the city's seven Hispanic wards and won the Hispanic-majority 4th Congressional District.

It was during that campaign that Gutierrez struck up a friendship with Hull, who was among Blagojevich's largest contributors. Gutierrez conferred with Blagojevich about whom to support in the Senate race. Blagojevich, though publicly neutral, is pulling for Hull.

Gutierrez contends that Hull can win the primary by following the Blagojevich formula of taking Downstate and and doing well in the Hispanic community.

Just as Rush faced criticism for backing Hull over Obama, who has strong support among African Americans, Gutierrez will take some flak for being against Chico. Rush was settling a score with Obama, who ran unsuccessfully against him for Congress four years ago. Although Rush denies that he is getting even, nobody believes him.

Like Rush, Gutierrez has a long memory. Two years ago, Marty Castro, a Mexican-American lawyer with political connections, ran against Gutierrez in the 4th Congressional District. Gutierrez noticed that some of Chico's associates were helpful to Castro.

Gutierrez, who won that race with 68 percent of the vote, is still angry about Castro's media campaign that depicted Gutierrez as soft on terrorism. Eric Adelstein, the political consultant behind that campaign, is now working for Chico.

Chico has attracted the support of such nationally prominent Hispanics as California Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros, and Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas.)

Among local elected officials, Chico's backers include State Sen. Martin A. Sandoval (D-Chicago), Ald. Ricardo Munoz (22nd), and Cook County Commissioner Roberto Maldonado.

Ald. Richard F. Mell (33rd), Blagojevich's father-in-law, once nicknamed "Old Gringo" by Gutierrez for meddling in Hispanic politics, is backing Hull in the Senate race. Instead of taunting Mell, Gutierrez is now counting on him to deliver.