◼ Former Chicago Alderman, and now 11-term Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez (D. 4th Dist. IL) is described by one news outlet as a “59-year-old Illinois congressman [who] stands 5 feet 6 inches tall, which is only one reason he got his nickname, “El Gallito” — the little fighting rooster.” - Trevor Loudon/New Zeal
As immigration chairman for the House Hispanic caucus, Gutierrez is fighting hard for a Presidential Executive Order granting amnesty to as many as 5 million illegal immigrants....
Gutierrez’s reputation in Chicagoland’s politics is not untarnished. There’s that sweetheart deal he got from ◼ Tony Rezko in the purchase of a condo for his daughter. There’s the $500,000 plus he paid in taxpayer money over 10 years to a Chicago lobbyist to advise his congressional staff. And, the 2004 allegation that Gutierrez lobbied Mayor Daley for a residential development owned by a man who loaned Luis $200,000. The developer was later federally indicted concerning the same development.
But forget all that – that’s all in the past.
Today, Gutierrez is firmly ensconced in one of the most gerrymandered congressional districts in America. You need a GPS to find its boundaries.
These days, the 4th Illinois District Congressman is making political fund-raising a family business.
Gutierrez For Congress Campaign Fund
In the last eight election cycles, from the 1998 through mid-2014, Gutierrez For Congress raised $2,973,972.
In the last seven races – 2014 is pending – Gutierrez’s opponents have raised a total of $14,192; all of that was collected by his 2012 opponent, Hector L. Concepcion. Concepcion spent all but one dollar of his campaign fund in his 2012 race against Gutierrez. Gutierrez, who received 83% of the vote, spent $383,558 and still had $354,393 cash-in-hand after he won.
Gutierrez won his last seven general elections with an average of 81% of the votes cast.
If Gutierrez repeatedly wins so handily over un- and under-funded candidates, why does he continue to aggressively raise campaign money every cycle?
Hold that thought.
In the last two election cycles, 2010-2012 & 2013-mid2014, Gutierrez For Congress raised a total of $524,452. (All statistics cited herein come from the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) website, www.fec.gov, and from www.opensecrets.org .)
FEC filings for the last two election cycles (2014 is incomplete) indicate that Gutierrez For Congress paid out, over those three-and-a-half years, $173,879 for the position of “Office Manager, Treasurer and Fundraising” for his campaign.
That expenditure represents over 33% of the total campaign donations raised during 42 months into the 2014 cycle.
The “Payee Name” listed on the FEC filings as having received payment as “Office Manager, Treasurer and Fundraising” is Soraida Gutierrez – also known as Mrs. Luis Gutierrez. MORE, at the link.
