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By MANUEL GALVAN

Dick Simpson takes on Rostenkowski in new 5th Congressional District

Dick Simpson
Photo by Jean Moss Inc., Chicago

Dick Simpson

Mayor Richard J. Daley was at the peak of his power. He was the last of the big city bosses, and nowhere else was the maxim that "you can't fight City Hall" more true than in Chicago. It was 1971, and somehow a college professor named Dick Simpson beat the machine to become one of a handful of liberal aldermen in the Chicago City Council. Today, Simpson is running again. This time against U.S. Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D-8, Chicago), the clout-heavy chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and arguably the most powerful congressman on the Hill.

Rostenkowski's power in Washington comes from chairing the fiscal committee that controls the nation's budget, as well as the pet projects of congressmen. At home that clout makes him a favorite of both parties. At 64, Rostenkowski's political strength is much more than perceptions. He has won 34 primaries and elections to Congress, usually in a landslide or unopposed. His closest contest in the last 10 years was in 1984, when he captured "only" 71 percent of the vote against Republican businessman Spiro Georgeson.

A major obstacle for Simpson is one that routinely plagues challengers — money. Simpson has refused to accept money from political action committees (PACs), relying instead on small contributions from a multitude of people. By the end of the year, he had collected some $80,000 from several hundred supporters at scores of "coffees." His target goal is $350,000 with nearly two-thirds to be spent on media. Rostenkowski's war chest is well over $1 million with as much more as he wants just a few phone calls, fundraisers or PAC contributions away.

Simpson says he's running because "Congress has been corrupted by PACs, which strangle legislation." He ranks Rostenkowski right at the top among congressmen whose hefty contributions from PACs color their decisions. Simpson claims he is the first credible opponent for the 17-term congressman.

Many would question Simpson's political chances in the March Democratic primary, but his scenario for winning includes several proven methods. Figuring that lead time was essential for name recognition and momentum, Simpson didn't wait for final approval of the new congressional districts. He started campaigning early last year against Rostenkowski and U.S. Rep. Frank Annunzio (D-11, Chicago), figuring one or both would be his opponents. Annunzio has decided to retire, leaving Rostenkowski the major opponent and making it a much tougher battle for Simpson. But the early months of campaigning allowed him to establish reform themes, such as limiting congressional terms to no more than 12 years.

His campaign tactics are vintage Simpson. A teacher, an author, an ordained minister and a former alderman who won against the biggest of odds, Simpson, by mid-1991, stepped up the offensive. He hit Rostenkowksi for writing a legal loophole that allowed a longtime pal to get a multimillion dollar tax break on Presidential Towers, a near west side complex, without providing the necessary percentage of low-income housing units designated by law. Simpson also reminded senior citizens of Rostenkowski's refusal to address them at a 1989 gathering to explain his committee's passage of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act, which required many elderly to pay more for health insurance. Instead, the congressman eluded some 200 protesters on the northwest side by fleeing on foot after they blocked the path of his car.

Simpson, 51, was born in Houston and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. Back in 1958, when Rostenkowski

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5th Congressional District

5th Congressional District

was getting ready to go to Congress to represent Mayor Daley, Simpson was still a senior at Houston's Bellaire High School and very active as an eagle scout. He received a doctorate in political science from Indiana University in Bloomington and decided to move to Chicago.

"One of my purposes was to help with the political and social problems," Simpson says of his arrival in 1967. "I became involved with the early [Sen. Eugene] McCarthy [D., Minn.] meetings and became McCarthy's campaign manager in the 9th Congressional District. I then became the statewide campaign manager in Illinois, through the Democratic National Convention."

Simpson's desire to give citizens a voice led him and several other McCarthy supporters to form the Independent Precinct Organization (IPO) after the 1968 convention. It was not a philosophical split with the existing Independent Voters of Illinois, but rather a division of methodology. The IPO was designed, not for fundraising, but as guerrilla warfare against Chicago's Democratic machine soldiers. A series of independents were elected, including several delegates to the Illinois Constitutional Convention and William Singer as 43rd Ward alderman.

Then came 1971 when Simpson was elected alderman of the 44th Ward. "I ran to enlarge the independent bloc in the City Council," says Simpson. He created a ward assembly, whose consensus he considered binding. In the City Council, he sponsored and passed legislation to downzone the lakefront, curtail redlining by banks, improve the city's housing program and fund art in public buildings. He also worked on reducing Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) fares for seniors. And in a rare aldermanic move, he returned his city salary.

Simpson won again in 1975 and became floor leader of the council's independent bloc. But he chose not to seek reelection in 1979 because he "never thought it was a good idea to be in office forever." He spent the next dozen years working for several candidates and serving on their transition teams, including Mayor Harold Washington and Cook County Clerk David Orr. From 1987 to 1989, Simpson, a Congregationalist minister, served as executive director of Clergy and Laity Concerned of Metropolitan Chicago. All the while, Simpson has kept one foot in the academic world, teaching political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago because, he says, he enjoys "the idealism of students" and writing books, such as Winning Elections, a handbook on reform politics.

Why is he a candidate again? "When I was in the City Council, I pushed for reform," Simpson says. "We've made strides in fixing Chicago government. But there's a decline in Congress, and without reform, there's not a lot of hope." Noting that Congress is susceptible to strong public pressure, he says, "What I'm doing is applying my experience to change the national arena, to break the gridlock. I'm as serious about reforming Congress as I ever was about the City Council."

In addition to attacking Rostenkowski early and often, Simpson's scenario for winning focuses on domestic and foreign issues and a new, 5th Congressional District that leaves the incumbent with less than 50 percent of his old constituents.

On domestic issues, Simpson proposes several programs aimed at ending the recession, such as stimulating the private sector to make capital investment, research and development tax credits for corporations to stay competitive and working with companies on job retraining. But the domestic issue that sets him apart from Rostenkowski is national health care. Simpson embraces a plan sponsored by U.S. Rep. Marty Russo (D-3, Chicago), ironically a Rostenkowski protege. The Russo plan calls for a national health care system that would cover "all hospital, physician and medical costs for every American." Simpson estimates that $604 billion is spent yearly by Americans for health care and that this program could save $40 billion by eliminating some 1,500 agencies with hundreds of separate plans. Simpson also frequently points out that Rostenkowski has accepted more than $350,000 from the medical industry and its PACs in the last five years. Spokesmen for Rostenkowski have repeatedly countered that PAC contributions do not give funders special treatment. While Rostenkowski's letters to constituents express the need for better health coverage, the congressman has said an overhaul is years away.

On foreign policy, Simpson would press for "a new foreign policy that extends our democratic principle to the international area." Simpson says, "We still think like it's after World War II and the middle of the Cold War. The administration deals with crises, not with accomplishing a policy."

With Simpson campaigning since the summer while Rostenkowski has kept a low profile, choosing to "run on his record," it will be up to the voters in the new 5th district to decide between the incumbent and Simpson in the Democratic primary. The new north side 5th district is shaped somewhat like a bent turkey leg, running from parts of Lake Michigan's shore to the Cook-DuPage County line. Its southern boundaries were determined by what was not needed for a Hispanic district, and its northern boundaries include all but the northernmost city wards. Whites account for 78 percent, Hispanics 15, Asians 6 and blacks 1 percent.

Simpson is pleased that the 43rd and parts of two other lake-

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front wards are in the district because they are his "natural voter constituencies." Even though the lakefront has shifted to Republican voting patterns since their liberal days when Simpson was in the council, he believes that "they know the problems" and will support him.


In the northwest side bungalow belt, Simpson is well aware he must once again take on the remaining old guard machine precinct captains

In the northwest side bungalow belt, Simpson is well aware he must once again take on the remaining old guard machine precinct captains. He's also aware that the largely blue-collar suburbs in this area are conservative and not likely to embrace his liberal leanings. A 1990 study by Northern Illinois University and the Chicago Urban League showed that the northwest wards and suburbs cast more than 50 percent of their votes for President Bush in 1988. Nevertheless, Simpson is counting on support from the area's seniors, who he hears booing Rostenkowski, and from voters concerned with health care and the economy.

Between those predominately white neighborhoods to the west and the lakefront lie untested territories, including the Lincoln Square, North Center and Lake View communities which have shown a significant Hispanic increase over the last few years. Latinos now account for some 20 percent of those communites. As alderman, Simpson created a Spanish-speaking ward assembly that successfully secured more CTA jobs for Hispanics. By contrast, Latino leaders often blame Rostenkowski for blocking their political growth on the northwest side.

There's also a large Asian population, particularly in Albany Park where Asians account for 23 percent of the population and have significant numbers in neighboring communities. Simpson believes that Asians, like Hispanics, feel left out of power and want to be a part of government. But unlike Hispanics, who have historically voted for change, Asians have traditionally voted for "winners." Simpson could win Asian voters, but it will depend on the people he selects to campaign for him in the community.

If Simpson can harness the anti-incumbency mood of voters, his victory would mean much more than a liberal reformer beating an establishment moderate. It could be the bellwether for a new voting trend in the nation's congressional races.

Manuel Galvan is a Chicago writer and marketing consultant.

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