The abruptness and timing

Luis Gutiérrez’s totally abnormal retirement ploy

The abruptness and timing of the congressman's announcement raises questions about his motives.

By NATASHA KORECKI

There's nothing normal about the way Illinois Congressman Luis Gutiérrez's retirement announcement went down.

The abruptness of his decision, the suspicious timing, the immediate coronation of a successor — all of it set off a flurry of speculation Tuesday that Gutiérrez had made some kind of grand inside play, perhaps brokered with Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Even in the great game of Chicago politics, where backroom deals are a way of life, Gutiérrez’s move managed to stun and surprise the Democratic establishment. In one fell swoop, the veteran congressman managed to upend the city’s congressional delegation, remake the 2019 mayoral race and set off a domino effect on local offices.

“This is clearly a game of musical chairs by the insiders, orchestrated from the top,” said Bob Fioretti, a former alderman who ran for mayor against Emanuel and is now running for county board president.

Before most up-and-coming elected officials could even examine their own prospects for Gutiérrez's seat, it was already too late. By the time news broke that the congressman was on his way out, he had already handpicked and endorsed Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia to succeed him.

Garcia, who nearly knocked off Emanuel in the 2015 mayoral runoff, had been viewed as the most prominent possible challenger to Emanuel in 2019.

A spokesman for the Emanuel campaign said the mayor had no knowledge of or involvement in Gutiérrez’s plans.

For his part, Gutiérrez had managed to limit what would have otherwise been a flood of candidates for his seat by acting as if he were running for reelection. As late as Monday, he was still filing nominating petitions for reelection. But on Tuesday, Gutiérrez withdrew those petitions, leaving just six days for anyone else to decide on a bid and collect enough signatures to appear on the ballot.

Several sources said discussions between Garcia and Gutiérrez began Friday.

Asked about Gutiérrez's last-minute petition filing and withdrawal to ensure an advantage went to Garcia, one longtime Chicago political consultant, Don Rose, didn't see a problem.

"Of course, what's wrong with that? It's not like this is his son ... why tip off an opponent?" Rose said. "I don't think I would characterize it as part of the Chicago political inheritance game."

Gutiérrez, a leading national voice on immigration reform who is wildly popular with the city’s Latino community, didn’t directly address the power play at the hourlong, live-streamed Tuesday news conference. But it was clear that he was aware of the appearance that he had greased Garcia’s path to Congress — and dispatched a potential 2019 rival to the mayor.

Talking in both English and Spanish, with Garcia by his side, an emotional Gutiérrez walked through his political accomplishments and fights for immigration, opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement and love for Puerto Rico.

He stood between two giant photos of a young Gutiérrez and Garcia with the legendary Chicago Mayor Harold Washington, hoping to fend off skepticism of his motives.

After all, just two years earlier, Gutiérrez had backed Emanuel over Garcia in the city’s bitter mayoral contest. And Gutiérrez had been a vigorous Hillary Clinton supporter, while Garcia was a strong Bernie Sanders ally. Sanders had even come to Chicago to campaign on behalf of Garcia against Emanuel.

“You can handpick the moment when we weren't together,” Gutiérrez told reporters, but he insisted that it was the time the pair spent together under Washington that counted. "We were like two of his sons, Harold Washington's sons, you know?”

Garcia on Tuesday insisted there was “no quid pro quo” and declared he would not endorse Emanuel in 2019. He said he would take up Gutiérrez’s mantle on immigration rights.

“The Chicago immigrant eats fear for breakfast every morning,” said Garcia, himself a Mexican immigrant. “When your history is that you risk leaving all you know for a better life, fear and hardship is something that you take in stride.”

Not everyone found the news conference convincing.

“Ultimately, the way that this was rolled out today is not how I would have done it,” Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa said in an interview Tuesday even as he professed he had the “utmost respect” for both Gutiérrez and Garcia. “I think the party suffers when we don't have open primaries. I believe the Democratic Party is stronger when we have open elections so we can bring the strongest, boldest progressive reforms to Washington.”