Challenger in Illinois Race Is Hurt in Shooting

Melvin J. Reynolds, the challenger in one of next Tuesday’s most hotly contested congressional primary races in Illinois, suffered superficial head wounds Thursday night when someone took shots at his campaign vehicle on the city’s South Side.

Reynolds, who is mounting a strong challenge in his third bid to unseat incumbent Democratic Rep. Gus Savage, was listed in good condition at South Shore Hospital, according to nursing supervisor Letitia Watts.

There were conflicting reports over whether his forehead was grazed by a bullet or whether he was hit by flying glass from the shattered window of the car he was riding in when the shooting occurred about 10 p.m.

CBS radio station WBBM quoted Chuck Kelly, the manager of Reynolds’ campaign, as saying the candidate was struck by both a bullet and glass after another car pulled alongside the late model Cadillac in which Reynolds was riding and someone inside the first vehicle opened fire.

“Somebody pulled up and took two shots at him,” police Sgt. John Manos said.

Although Reynolds’ car was reportedly marked with a campaign sign, it was unclear whether the shooting was political in nature. The neighborhood in which the shooting occurred is a high crime area, and drive-by shootings are not uncommon.

Chicago police Officer Charles Demaar said Reynolds walked into the hospital under his own power. Demaar said that there were reports Reynolds had been wearing a bulletproof vest.

WBBM said the right rear window of the Reynolds’ campaign car was shattered and that another bullet appeared to have pierced the door just below the window.

In recent days, Reynolds, a college professor, has come under fierce attack from Savage, a five-term incumbent with a sharp tongue and controversial record. Both men are black, but Savage has publicly ridiculed Reynolds as being a tool of Israeli and Jewish interests.

In a speech to a black political group Saturday, Savage attacked Reynolds for allegedly getting most of his campaign funds from Jewish contributors out to topple the incumbent because of his strong stand against Israel. “He’ll spend five times the money I can raise, most of it coming from Jews,” Savage charged, adding that he didn’t care whether or not he was tabbed as an anti-Semite.

Jewish groups and Reynolds attacked Savage as a bigot who was trying to whip up support among black nationalists in his district. An election watchdog group here censured Savage for a “deliberate and cynical ploy, intentionally timed to gain political support by arousing intergroup fears.”

Savage could not be reached for comment about the shooting. The seat for which Reynolds and Savage are vying largely encompasses Chicago’s far South Side and a smattering of suburbs. It is about 69% black and heavily Democratic.