Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Chicago) gave a ringing endorsement of Gov. Pat Quinn this morning, pointing to Quinn's work on consumer, Latino and immigrant issues.
"Governor Quinn understands that every day in Illinois, families are sitting at their kitchen tables making tough decisions about how to make ends meet," Gutierrez said. "Pat Quinn is the person I want in the Governor’s office helping those families."
Gutierrez's endorsement is a boost to Quinn's push for Hispanic voters, a minority group hit hard by the economic recession and unemployment. The congressman announced the endorsement at a credit union in Chicago's heavily Hispanic Humboldt Park neighborhood.
Gutierrez's senior position in the U.S. House's Financial Services Committee also gives Quinn, a former state treasurer, additional credibility on the economy, a vital campaign issue in a state that ranks among the worse in terms of fiscal health and foreclosures.
In a campaign statement, Gutierrez cited Quinn’s work in creating the Citizens Utility Board, and he praised the governor for signing the new Percentage of Income Payment Plan law, which creates a payment-plan option that caps the amount utility companies can charge utility customers.
During today's news conference, after Gutierrez applauded Quinn's efforts in Latino and immigrant issues, I asked the congressman to describe an example of the governor's work in those areas.
He restated Quinn's commitment to "the weakest and most vulnerable among us," a r eference to immigrants, but he did not cite a specific policy or event related to Quinn's work on the issues.
I pressed him on it, and Quinn finally stepped in to describe the New Americans Initiative, a nonprofit partnership between the state of Illinois and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights that helps immigrants through the process of becoming U.S. citizens.
"We are, all of us, immigrants to America," Quinn responded. "We want to have that same philosophy of everybody in, nobody out" — a phrase Quinn used during another news conference this week related to a transit agreement.
Gutierrez told reporters that while he did consider endorsing Quinn rival Dan Hynes, Quinn was an easy choice. He later told me that while Hynes called him to ask for an endorsement, Gutierrez went out of his way to call Quinn.
"I know Quinn," Gutierrez said. "We have a long relationship. That relationship makes it easy."
Windy Citizen 