* Buried way down in this generic “Pera says Dem incumbent is like Bush and liberal bloggers hate Lipinksi” story is this tidbit that made the rounds of the blogs yesterday…
Democratic U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez of Chicago, a leading proponent of immigrant rights, took the highly unusual step of withdrawing his endorsement of Lipinski.
“He cannot look past [Lipinski’s] voting record on immigration,” Gutierrez spokeswoman Rebecca Dreilinger said Thursday.
* Pera had this to say to Chicagoist the other day…
Dan Lipinski has made a big deal about his intervening in the case of a French woman subject to deportation. And I applaud his effort. But the fact is there are millions of people in a similar situation. The fact is he voted for the Sensenbrenner bill that would have made this woman a felon. The fact is that it’s convenient and easy to do what he did for purposes of grabbing a headline. But when it comes to the hard work and the need for leadership on the issue of immigration, he is nowhere to be found. And he has taken a very harsh view towards the immigrant community.
It’s a good point. Lipinski has gotten a lot of press for his work on behalf of that woman, but rarely mentioned is the hypocrisy of his behavior.
* We’re coming late to this story, but check out this explanation of Jerry Weller’s legal bills…
U.S. Rep. Jerry Weller, who announced his retirement in September following reports of undisclosed foreign property investments and other ethics questions, spent $172,000 on legal fees last fall, according to campaign reports the Illinois Republican filed this week.
The fees, all of which went to Washington-based Wiley Rein LLP, represented more than half of the $301,000 he had reported remaining in his campaign fund.
Weller press secretary Andy Fuller offered only a vague description of the purpose of the expenditure. “When the congressman decided to leave Congress, he had his attorneys perform a thorough review of his time in Congress,” Fuller said in an e-mail.
Yeah. I’m sure.
* More from the AP…
His first payment of $140,893.05 was made on Oct. 2, just two weeks after Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics issued a report detailing numerous alleged ethical problems and possible violations of federal law. He has not been charged with any wrongdoing. […]
Jan Witold Baran, a partner in the law firm who has represented Weller before the FEC in past years, declined comment or to say whether Weller remained a client. […]
The Chicago Tribune recently published a report that suggested Weller had not properly reported real estate dealings in Nicaragua, where the congressman owns property.
The newspaper also said Weller’s wife, an influential senator in Guatemala and daughter of a former Guatemalan dictator, formed a nonprofit in Illinois with close associates or family members that raised questions about the congressman’s omission of his wife’s assets from his financial disclosure filings.
* A couple more congressional stories…
* Web site descriptions at issue in 8th, 10th congressional races
* Halvorson pledges to fight for local interests in Springfield, Washington