U.S. House, Illinois - 4th District
Chicago -- parts of North Side, southwest side
Race Information
- Incumbent: Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez, D
- First Elected: 1992 (8th term)
- Last Elected: 2006 (85.84%)
- Incumbent Status: Running for re-election
- Race Forecast: Safe Democrat
District Information
Politics in America District Profile
Surrounding the black-majority 7th District in the center of Chicago, the small, horseshoe-shaped 4th was drawn to unite the city’s Hispanic neighborhoods into one voting bloc. Slightly less than 90 percent of district residents live in Chicago.
The district boasts the state’s largest Hispanic population, and the nation’s fifth-largest, at 74 percent. The 4th is largely young and poor, with the nation’s fifth-lowest median age (27.2 years) and a median income slightly less than $36,000. Nearly half of the district’s residents age 25 or older do not have a high school diploma.
A narrow strip of land about 10 miles in length and running along railroad tracks, highways and cemeteries attaches the Puerto Rican neighborhood of Logan Square in the northern part of the 4th to Mexican-American populations in Little Village and Pilsen in the southern portion. More than 90 percent of residents are Hispanic in these parts of the South Lawndale and Lower West Side communities around Cermak Road in the southern arm of the district. Close-in Chicago suburbs such as Cicero and Stone Park, formerly home to Slavic and Italian populations, respectively, also have seen rapid Hispanic growth.
The 4th has the state’s largest percentage of blue-collar workers, many of whom are immigrants living in the district’s Hispanic, Ukrainian and Polish neighborhoods. Most jobs in the district are in the transportation and manufacturing sectors, and the warehousing industry is strong.
The district is plagued by low voter turnout, but is solidly Democratic at all levels. Democrat John Kerry garnered 79 percent of the 4th’s presidential vote in 2004.
Major Industry
Light manufacturing, transportation
Cities
Chicago (pt.), 560,373; Cicero (pt.), 73,209; Melrose Park (pt.), 5,756
notable
Cermak Road is named for former Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak, who was killed in 1933 by a bullet meant for President-elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt; The Back of the Yards neighborhood in Chicago was the subject of Upton Sinclair’s 1906 novel “The Jungle.”
- Demographics (2000 census)
- Population: 653,647
- Under 18: 31.9%
- Over 65: 6.1%
- Married: 46.9%
- Non-Hispanic White: 18%
- Black: 4%
- Hispanic: 74%
- Asian: 2%
- Foreign Born: 40.6%
- Language other than English: 74%
- Median Household Income: 35,935
- Owner Occupied Housing: 39.2%
- Income above $200k: 1.2
- Workforce/Education (2000 census)
- White Collar: 43.5%
- Blue Collar: 39%
- Services: 17.1%
- Bachelor's Degree: 14%
- Graduate Education: 4.5%
- Civilian Veterans: 19,261
Year | Election | Candidate | Votes | Percent |
---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | general | Luis Gutierrez (D) | 110,236 | 80.6% |
Daniel Cunningham (R) | 15,703 | 11.5% | ||
Omar Lopez (GREEN) | 10,790 | 7.9% | ||
2006 | general | Luis Gutierrez (D) | 69,910 | 85.8% |
Ann Melichar (R) | 11,532 | 14.2% | ||
2004 | general | Luis Gutierrez (D) | 104,761 | 83.7% |
Tony Cisneros (R) | 15,536 | 12.4% | ||
Jake Whitmer (LIBERT) | 4,845 | 3.9% | ||
2002 | general | Luis Gutierrez (D) | 67,339 | 79.7% |
Anthony Lopez-Cisneros (R) | 12,778 | 15.1% | ||
Marjorie Kohls (LIBERT) | 4,396 | 5.2% |
Year | Democrat | Republican | Independent |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | John Kerry: 79% | George W. Bush: 21% | |
2000 | Al Gore: 76% | George W. Bush: 19% |
Campaign Finance Details for the 2008 Race
Filers | Through | Total Receipts | Total Disbursements | Total From PACs | Total From Individuals | Ending Cash | Debts Owed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MUNOZ, RICARDO (D) | December 30, 2007 | $345,156.00 | $345,155.00 | $144,245.00 | $1,000.00 | ||
FLORES, MANUEL (D) | September 30, 2008 | $515,831.00 | $215,322.00 | $501,115.00 | $300,689.00 | ||
GUTIERREZ, LUIS V (D) | October 15, 2008 | $307,468.00 | $124,100.00 | $4,000.00 | $230,310.00 | $307,852.00 | |
PIEKARCZYK, STEVE (R) | December 31, 2006 | ||||||
MALDONADO, ROBERTO (D) | September 30, 2008 | $233,486.00 | $79,565.00 | $229,717.00 | $153,920.00 | ||
CARDENAS, GEORGE (D) | March 31, 2008 | $26,750.00 | $27,638.00 | $26,750.00 | $5,156.00 |