Congressmen drop out of Chicago mayor’s race

Like a poker player who had drawn two aces, Mayor Richard M. Daley on Thursday kept a straight face and tried to keep his mouth shut about news that Jesse L. Jackson Jr. and Luis V. Gutierrez were folding any plans to run for mayor.

“I can’t speak for them, and I won’t speak for them,” Daley declared shortly before the two Democratic congressmen -- his most formidable potential opponents in the February election -- held separate news conferences to make official announcements.

Asked whether he would run his reelection campaign any differently now, Daley didn’t miss a beat.

“I have not announced whether I am running or not,” he replied.

But all signs, including a $1,000-a-ticket fundraiser on Wednesday night, indicate that Daley will seek a sixth term.

Jackson, who two months ago said he was 75% certain he would run for mayor, put the prospect at zero Thursday. He announced he would remain in Congress now that Democrats have regained control of the House.

“I am downright giddy about the prospects of being in Washington,” he said. “Washington will be the place to be in the next two years.”

The Democratic majority will present an opportunity “to bring even more resources to the people of Chicago,” Jackson added.

Gutierrez, who noted he has been in the minority party for 12 of his 14 years in the House, said Democratic control meant he now would be able to push an agenda that included immigration reform and curbs on predatory lending. He said he was in line to head a committee that oversees financial services.

Gutierrez said he also wanted to spend more time with his wife, Sondra, who is undergoing treatment for thyroid cancer.

But some Daley allies said Jackson and Gutierrez simply faced political reality.

“Both congressmen are bright people who have done a lot of polls,” said Alderman William Banks, a Daley backer. “I think they realized they could not beat the mayor. I don’t believe they had a shot.”