Luis Vicente Gutiérrez (born December 10, 1953) is an American politician. He served as the U.S. representative for from 1993 to 2019. From 1986 until his election to Congress, he served as a member of the Chicago City Council representing the 26th ward. He is a member of the Democratic Party and was a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus during his tenure in the House. In the 113th Congress, with his 20 years of service, Gutiérrez became, along with Bobby Rush, the longest serving member of the Illinois House delegation, and so was occasionally referred to as the unofficial "dean" of the delegation.
Of Puerto Rican descent, he is a current supporter of Puerto Rican independence, and the Vieques movement. Gutiérrez is also an outspoken advocate of workers' rights, LGBT rights, gender equality, and other liberal and progressive causes. In 2010, Frank Sharry of America's Voice, an immigration reform advocacy group, said of Gutiérrez: "He's as close as the Latino community has to a Martin Luther King figure." His supporters have given him the nickname El Gallito – the little fighting rooster – in reference to his fiery oratory and political prowess.
His district, the 4th congressional district, was featured by The Economist as one of the most strangely drawn and gerrymandered congressional districts in the country and has been nicknamed "earmuffs" due to its shape. It was created to pack two majority Hispanic parts of Chicago into one district, thereby creating a majority Hispanic district.
In November 2017, Gutiérrez announced that he would retire from Congress at the end of his current term, and not seek re-election in 2018. As of 2021, Gutiérrez lives in Puerto Rico.
In 1974, Gutiérrez returned to Chicago and enrolled at Northeastern Illinois University. He got involved in student activism and social justice issues, writing for the student publication Que Ondee Sola and serving as the president of the Union for Puerto Rican Students. In 1976, while a senior at Northeastern Illinois, he began driving a cab in order to raise enough funds to visit his long-time girlfriend, Soraida, in Puerto Rico. In 1977, after graduating from Northeastern Illinois University with a degree in English, he returned to Puerto Rico and married Soraida. The couple returned to Chicago in 1978, and, unable to find other work, Gutiérrez took up taxi driving full-time. Gutiérrez eventually found work as a Chicago Public School teacher and later a child abuse caseworker with the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services.
Early political career
Campaign for 32nd ward Democratic committeeman
In 1983, Gutiérrez left his job with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to run against incumbent Dan Rostenkowski for 32nd ward Democratic committeeman in the March 1984 primary election. To fund his campaign, Gutiérrez returned to driving a cab seven days a week, 14 hours a day. Gutiérrez's work as a taxi driver grew his campaign fund to $6,000, against which Rostenkowski had hundreds of thousands of dollars. Reporting on Gutiérrez's early political career, Jorge Casuso and Ben Joravsky of the Chicago Tribune wrote: "Gutiérrez thought he could win. Washington's 1983 victory – the first local race Gutiérrez had voted in – had left him wildly optimistic. Before that, he didn't think blacks, Hispanics and poor people could win a legitimate voice in local government."
Gutiérrez's political activism and role as a rising leader in Chicago's burgeoning Latino community caught the attention of Chicago's first African-American Mayor – Harold Washington – who appointed him in August 1984 to the position of deputy superintendent in the Department of Streets and Sanitation.
In October 1984, a Molotov cocktail came crashing through the front living room window of Gutiérrez's home. For a period of three months following the firebombing, his family lived in hotel rooms. The offenders were never identified, but Gutiérrez attributed the attack to "culprits from the right ... opposed to reform and Mayor Washington".
On the eve of the Gutiérrez-Torres run-off, Spanish language television aired the candidates' final debate. Gutiérrez, who spoke Spanish during the debate, outperformed Torres, who chose to speak entirely in English. Gutiérrez's use of Spanish and his grass-roots organizing are credited for his 53%–47% victory over Torres. Gutiérrez is reported to have said during the election: "My supporters could give a damn about the Democratic Party. They're ready to work on whatever it is that moves socioeconomic justice ahead."
Under Daley's administration, Gutiérrez served as Chair of the Committee on Housing, Land Acquisition, Disposition, and Leases and Council President pro tempore, presiding over meetings in the Mayor's absence. Mell, the only white candidate, entered the race out of his "personal dislike for Gutiérrez". Gutiérrez received the endorsement of Mayor Richard M. Daley, and all but one of his opponents, Juan Soliz, dropped out of the race. At his election night victory party, Gutiérrez stated: "If a Puerto Rican kid from Humboldt Park can go to the Congress of the United States, it shows the American dream is possible." However, the 4th is a heavily Democratic district, and Gutiérrez had effectively clinched a seat in Congress with his primary win.
;Re-elections (1994-2010)
In 1994, Gutierrez defeated Soliz in the primary by an even larger margin 64%-36%, and won re-election to a second term in the general election with 75% of the vote. It would prove to be the lowest winning percentage in a general election in his career. From 1996 to 2008, Gutiérrez won re-election seven times, each time with more than 80% of the vote. In 2010, he won re-election to his tenth term with 77% of the vote.
Gutierrez pulled his petition for re-election in the 2018 race on November 27, 2017, effectively ending his congressional career. The next day Gutierrez held a press conference, he endorsed Cook County Commissioner Jesús "Chuy" García for the position. He did not rule out running for a future office.
Tenure
Party leadership and caucus membership
In 2009, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi appointed Gutiérrez Chair of the Democratic Caucus Immigration Task Force. He continued to serve as the Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Immigration Task Force until he left Congress. In these roles, he served as the Congress's "leading strategist and spokesperson on immigration issues".
Gutiérrez also introduced an amendment to the Dodd-Frank bill that created the United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Immigration reform and immigrant rights
Gutiérrez has been called the "Moses of the Latinos" due to his many years advocating for immigrant rights.
In his continued efforts to reform immigration, Gutiérrez has participated in two acts of non-violent civil disobedience outside of the White House. The first took place on May 1, 2010, where, following a speech delivered to hundreds at Lafayette Park, Gutiérrez marched with protesters to the White House and refused to leave until Presidential action was taken on immigration reform or he was arrested. Many of the protesters who joined Gutiérrez had signs that called for a Presidential moratorium on deportation and criticized recent anti-immigrant legislation passed in Arizona – SB 1070. Gutiérrez also joined the protesters in criticizing Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's decision to sign the measure allowing racial profiling in the state-level enforcement of immigration laws.
On July 26, 2011, in response to a record-breaking one-million deportations under President Obama, and the President's continued refusal to stop deportations of DREAM Act eligible youth, Gutiérrez and eleven labor, faith, and civil rights leaders were arrested outside the White House. A crowd of 2,500 came to support Gutiérrez and the eleven other leaders. A day before the arrest, President Obama sent a letter to Gutiérrez in which he stated that he would continue his administration's deportation policy.
In 2009, and again in 2011, Gutiérrez went on a nationwide tour in support of comprehensive immigration reform and a moratorium on the deportation of families. The tours received widespread media attention and helped revive the nationwide discussion on immigration reform. Gutiérrez was the main speaker at the historic March 21, 2010, March for America rally at the capitol mall attended by over 200,000 people.
Gutiérrez was the first elected official to sponsor a version of the DREAM Act – legislation to allow undocumented youth brought to the United States as minors a pathway to citizenship – in 2001. He described the bill before a Washington DC rally:
Following CIR-ASAP's defeat in the Congress, Gutiérrez has been a main backer of the DREAM Act in the House.
Veterans' access to health care
While Gutiérrez was a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, the House passed legislation introduced by Gutiérrez that made treatment and counseling available to veterans who have been victims of sexual trauma.
Gutiérrez's assistance was pivotal in securing $92 million in additional healthcare and prosthetic funding for veterans. Gutierrez was ultimately successful: in May 2003, the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Training Facility on Vieques Island was closed; and in May 2004, the U.S. Navy's last remaining base on Puerto Rico, the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station - which employed 1,000 local contractors and contributed $300 million to the local economy - was closed.
In 2011, Gutiérrez came out against human rights abuses occurring on the island – specifically police brutality perpetrated against University of Puerto Rico students critical of the island's government and a law passed by the Fortuño government that sought to limit student's freedom of speech. Gutiérrez also spoke out against a proposed pipeline which would degrade the island's lush tropical habitat and potentially put residents living near the proposed pipeline in danger.
Workers' rights
Gutiérrez is a close ally of organized labor and has voted repeatedly to protect and expand workers' rights. In 2008, Gutiérrez was one of the principal elected officials that assisted workers of the Chicago-based Republic Windows and Doors during their successful sit-in. The workers had lost their jobs without advance notice, allegedly due to a refusal of credit from Bank of America after the bailout of the financial system. He met with workers and helped them broker a deal with Bank of America. Gutiérrez views his advocacy for workers' rights and immigrant rights as invariably related. He is frequently invited to speak and present before labor unions.
North American Free Trade Agreement
In 1994 Gutiérrez was a vocal opponent of NAFTA and ultimately voted against the measure because of the legislation's failure to provide for worker retraining, protect against American job loss, and protect Mexican workers' collective bargaining rights. He criticized the role of Rahm Emanuel in particular for the deficiencies.
Public transportation
When the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) declared its plan to close down the Douglas Branch of the then Blue Line – which serves primarily working-class Latino communities – Gutiérrez successfully secured $320 million in federal funding to reconstruct Blue Line stops and pressed the CTA to re-instate full service.
Use of civil disobedience
With a background as a community activist and organizer, Gutiérrez often uses non-violent civil disobedience when pushing political causes and legislation. He was arrested in May 2000 in protest of the US military using the inhabited Puerto Rican island of Vieques as a bombing range, and again in May 2010 in protest of presidential inaction on immigration reform.
Committee assignments
Upon arriving to the United States House of Representatives, Gutiérrez attempted to organize the 63 incoming Democratic freshmen to support a reform agenda. He sent each one a copy of the book Adventures in Porkland: How Washington Wastes Your Money and Why They Won't Stop. As a result of his attempts to organize the freshmen class, Gutiérrez was passed up by the House leadership for his first choice of the Ways and Means Committee, and his second choice of the Education Committee; instead, he was assigned to the Banking Committee and Veterans' Affairs. In response to being bypassed for his top committee choices as result of his reform advocacy, Gutiérrez charged that then-House Speaker Tom Foley was "not a reformer in any sense".
Congressman Gutiérrez sat on the following House Committees:
- Committee on the Judiciary
- Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Border Security,
- Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations;
Gutiérrez was a member of the Judiciary Committee during the 110th and 111th Congress, serving on the Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law Subcommittee. During that same period of time, he was the Chair of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit of the Financial Services Committee. the Congressional Arts Caucus and the United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus.
Mayoral candidacy speculation
Gutiérrez' name has often been mentioned as a potential candidate for Mayor of Chicago. In 2006, he explored running for mayor of Chicago against incumbent Richard M. Daley, but announced in November that he would remain in Congress.
After Daley declared his retirement in 2011, Gutiérrez' name was once again floated as a potential mayoral candidate. In an effort to draft the Congressman into the race, students formed chapters of "Students for Luis Gutiérrez" at six colleges and two Chicago public high schools; but in October, Gutiérrez removed his name from consideration, stating, "I have an obligation not to give up on the fight I've already begun. I have unfinished business to complete", in reference to his work on immigration reform in the United States Congress.
After mayor Rahm Emanuel dropped out of the 2019 mayoral election in early September 2018, Gutiérrez stated that he was considering either running himself, or having Jesús "Chuy" García (the 2015 mayoral runner-up who was, at the time, running as the Democratic nominee to succeed Gutiérrez in congress) run for mayor. Ultimately, on September 12 (a week after declaring interest), he opted against running, and publicly called for Garcia to run. By the start of October, Garcia had declared that he would not be running either.
Personal life
Gutiérrez has been married to Soraida Arocho Gutiérrez since 1977. Together, they have two daughters – Omaira and Jessica. Jessica's middle name – Washington – comes from the late Mayor Harold Washington, a close friend and mentor of Gutiérrez.
Roberto Maldonado, 26th ward alderman and former Cook County Commissioner, is Gutiérrez' former brother-in-law.
Gutiérrez is an avid golfer.
Electoral history
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%"
|+ : Results 1992–2006
!|Year
!|Democrat
!|Votes
!|Pct
!|Republican
!|Votes
!|Pct
!|Third party
!|Votes
!|Pct
|-
|1992
| |
| align="right" |90,452
| |
| |
| align="right" |26,154
| |
|
|
|
|-
|1994
| |
| align="right" |46,695
| |
| |
| align="right" |15,384
| |
|
|
|
|-
|1996
| |
| align="right" |85,278
| |
|
|
|
| | (Libertarian)
| align="right" |5,857
| |
|-
|1998
| |
| align="right" |54,244
| |
| |
| align="right" |10,529
| |
| | (Libertarian)
| align="right" |1,583
| |
|-
|2000
| |
| align="right" |89,487
| |
|
|
|
| | (Libertarian)
| align="right" |11,476
| |
|-
|2002
| |
| align="right" |67,339
| |
| |
| align="right" |12,778
| |
| | (Libertarian)
| align="right" |4,396
| |
|-
|2004
| |Luis Gutiérrez (inc.)
| align="right" |104,761
| |
| |Anthony J. Lopez-Cisneros
| align="right" |15,536
| |
| | (Libertarian)
| align="right" |4,845
| |
|-
|2006
| |Luis Gutiérrez (inc.)
| align="right" |69,910
| |
| |Ann Melichar
| align="right" |11,532
| |
|
|
|
|-
|2008
| |Luis Gutiérrez (inc.)
| align="right" |112,529
| |
| |Daniel Cunningham
| align="right" |16,024
| |
| | (Green)
| align="right" |11,053
| |
|-
|2010
| |Luis Gutiérrez (inc.)
| align="right" |63,273
| |
| |Israel Vasquez
| align="right" |11,711
| |
| | (Green)
| align="right" |6,808
| |
|-
|2012
| |Luis Gutiérrez (inc.)
| align="right" |133,226
| |
| |Héctor Concepción
| align="right" |27,279
| |
| | (Write-in)
| align="right" |4
| |
|-
|2014
| |Luis Gutiérrez (inc.)
| align="right" |79,666
| |78.1%
| |Héctor Concepción
| align="right" |22,278
| |21.9%
|
|
|
|-
|2016
| |Luis Gutiérrez (inc.)
| align="right" |171,297
| |100%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|}
See also
- List of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress
References
External links
;Articles
- BuzzFlash Interviews: Congressman Luis Gutierrez June 20, 2001
|-