DownWithTyranny is reporting that Rep. Luis Gutierrez is un-endorsing Lipinski.
But, like so many politicians from Chicago, regardless of how they are on national issues-- and Gutierrez is good-- when it comes to local issues, the Machine rules. He's almost a mini version of Dick Durbin, an excellent progressive in Washington, but a pathetic hack and tool at home. So it came as quite the shock in Chicagoland politics today when Gutierrez officially withdrew his endorsement of Lipinski. But bitter disappointment from progressives didn't figure into the unprecedented action Gutierrez took today.
CHICAGO--The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) has learned that Congressman Luis Gutierrez withdrew his endorsement of Congressman Dan Lipinski based on Congressman Lipinski's poor voting record on immigration issues. One-fifth of the district's residents are immigrants, yet Cong. Lipinski has not represented this part of his constituency.
Rep. Lipinski voted for the Sensenbrenner enforcement bill and the border fence. He voted to reauthorize the USA PATRIOT Act. He even voted for an amendment that would have punished Chicago, his own city, because it refuses to inquire about immigration status when offering police protection and other vital services."
At the same time, Rep. Lipinski has refused to support measures such as the DREAM Act to help undocumented students realize their full potential. He also refused to support the STRIVE Act, the bill co-sponsored by his Illinois colleague, Rep. Luis Gutierrez, that would offer a path for hardworking immigrants in his district and throughout the country to earn legal status and eventually become full members of our society.
