Washington By ROBERT MACKAY

WHEN Jane Byrne announced she was going to run for mayor of Chicago in the general election as a write-in candidate, it was all Congressman Dan Rostenkowski needed to hear. He immediately endorsed Harold Washington.

It was typical Rostenkowski, who is close to the Richard Daley family. Despite having spent 24 years in Congress, the gruff, bear-like Rostenkowski has not forgotten his roots and he still practices politics like a Chicago Democratic ward boss. His no-nonsense, straight-talking manner has earned him respect in Washington, where those qualities are often hard to find.

But while Rostenkowski is as heavily involved in ward politics in Chicago as ever, he is also a prominent figure on the national political scene. Rosty, as he is called in Washington, has never made secret his desire to someday become speaker of the House of Representatives.

He is waiting for Speaker Thomas "Tip" O'Neill (D-Mass.) to retire. So is Majority Leader Jim Wright (D-Texas). But unfortunately for them, O'Neill postponed the long-awaited Rostenkowski-Wright fight for power by recently announcing he will seek reelection to another two-year term in 1984.

"O'Neill's going to be here three more years," a source close to Rostenkowski said. "There's no reason [for Rostenkowski] to jump if nothing's going on. I can't conceive he'd want to be majority leader. And there's only one other job."

Rostenkowski, who was brought up under the tutelage of Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, and O'Neill are close personal friends and turn to each other for advice. They were cut from the same cloth, from big-city ethnic neighborhoods where family ties and loyalty rank above all else.

Two years ago, Rostenkowski turned down an opportunity to become majority whip and instead became chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee. O'Neill had wanted Rostenkowski to take the job, because the speaker needed someone he could trust in that position to help him combat Reagan's new economic policies.

The first year, Rostenkowski tried to bargain with the administration on a tax cut program and, with the Republicans and Democrats trying to outdo each other, ended up adding more corporate tax breaks to the package than either party wanted. Last year, he refused to put his hands on the $98 billion tax increase bill the administration wanted and let Senate Finance Committee Chairman Robert Dole (R-Kan.) take full credit for it. "The first year, the president was in the cat's seat," one business tax lobbyist said. "The second year, you had Dole in the cat's seat. Now, it's Rostenkowski's turn."

Some amount of taxes will have to be raised this year to cut record budget deficits that are expected to soar past $200 billion. But Rostenkowski's first attempt to suggest a tax package for 1983 caused a slight rift between him and O'Neill.

Early this year, Rostenkowski proposed a tax package that would preserve the third year of the Reagan income tax cut program, but close some loopholes to raise new taxes. In a private meeting with Democratic leaders later, O'Neill — who had been calling for repeal of the tax cut, or at least placing a maximum limit on it — angrily complained Rostenkowski had made him feel like a "f......fool."

But O'Neill is no longer upset with Rostenkowski, a source close to the speaker said. "Rosty probably played a fortuitous role, because it got the speaker tougher. Tip wanted the cap [tax cut limit], but the more conservative budget types wanted to repeal it. Tip was tired of being blamed for the past two years of not showing discipline, so he did it."

"Rosty's probably more angry with Tip for coming down so hard,"the source said. "But the discipline worked to Rosty's advantage, because Tip kicked ass for Rosty on the Sock Security bill." Rostenkowski's committee was in charge of the Social security bailout bill that Congress enacted early this year. It passed by a wide margin in the House.

"Tip loves Rosty," said the O'Neill source. "He forgives him instantly. He likes him so much, they just come in yelling at each other. That's how they talk. These guys don't talk like professors. They're very visceral."

If the House Democratic leadership wants a limit put on the third year of the tax cut, the Rostenkowski source said, "then Rosty, as a loyal member can probably get it out of the Ways and Means Committee. He came in here and pretty well dominates the Ways and Means Committee and this side of Congress."

Meanwhile, Rostenkowski is trying to heal the wounds from the mayor election in his heavily Polish ward, which voted overwhelmingly for Republican Bernard Epton over Washington. "The election put him in a very difficult position emotionally," a close friend said. "In the primary, he backed Daley from the heart. When Byrne decided to get into the race, that quickly provoked him to declare for Washington. Byrne's announcement kicked all the guys off the fence."

Frequently mentioned as a possible mayoral candidate himself, Rostenkowski, at 55 years of age, still has plenty of options available to him — in Washington, Chicago or private business.

"If he agrees with you, he tells you. You don't have to run around wondering exactly what he meant," said a former member of the Ways and Means Committee. A current member, Rep. James Shannon (D-Mass.), said, "He's a very tough guy. He'll do everything he can to reach out to attract your support. But if you don't deliver on your end, he'll remember that too."

June 1983 | Illinois Issues | 32