2 <p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="column span-4 small quiet"><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/cdnassets/assets/8010/quinn_col4.jpg" alt="" style="width: 150px;" /><br />Gov. Pat Quinn</div> <p>An influential contingent of Chicago-area Hispanic leaders endorsed Gov. Pat Quinn this morning, about a week after U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Chicago, backed Quinn's campaign.<br /><br />The leaders include a county commissioner, a state senator and Chicago aldermen who represent heavily Hispanic neighborhoods. Their endorsements add heft to backing from Gutierrez, arguably the highest-ranking Hispanic elected official in the Chicago area.<br /><br />Ald. Ray Suarez, the Democrat from Chicago's 31st Ward, said he knows Quinn as a man of "integrity," a word several other of the officials also used to describe the governor.<br /><br />"He's of the people, for the people," Suarez told me outside Lazo's Tacos, where Quinn's campaign held a press conference.<br /><br />Suarez praised Quinn's work on pushing the state's first capital program in 10 years.<br /><br />"Without jobs and education, this city and this state are going to face a harder road ahead," Suarez said.<br /><br />Ald. Manny Flores, the Democrat from Chicago's 1st Ward, called Quinn a leader who has been "fighting for those who have been voiceless in our community."<br /><br />The leaders said jobs and education were the biggest issues facing Hispanic voters in this election cycle. State Rep. Susana Mendoza, D-Chicago, said she predicts as much as 25 to 30 percent of the Hispanic electorate to turn out.<br /><br />Mendoza pointed to gun violence as another major issue for her constituents, praising Quinn's work to maintain funding for the CeaseFire program, an anti-violence Chicago organization.<br /><br />"It's a program that could mean the difference between life and death," Mendoza said.<br /><br />Ald. Ariel Reyboyras of Chicago's 30th Ward said he met Quinn in the mid-1970s, when Reyboyras was working with the Lakeview Citizens Council.<br /><br />"He's very consistent, " Reyboyras said of Quinn. "He practices what he preaches."<br /><br />I asked Reyboyras why he supported Quinn instead of another candidate.<br /><br />"I'm a firm believe in, the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it."<br /><br />According to a list from the Quinn campaign, others at today's press conference included Chicago Committeeman Joseph Berrios; 1st Ward Committeeman Jesse Ruben Juarez; state Reps. Luis Arroyo, Toni Berrios, Elizabeth Hernandez and Cynthia Soto; and Cook County Commissioner Edwin Reyes.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> 2009-11-20T13:20:00-06:00 2 30802 1 82 1 HispanicleadersendorseQuinn 1 City, county and state elected officials backed Gov. Pat Quinn this morning, adding heft to a previous endorsement from U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez. 2 380