Quigley heads to Washington after primary win

WASHINGTON -- Congressional hopeful Mike Quigley took his first steps toward assuming Illinois' 5th District congressional seat on Tuesday, traveling to Washington for meetings and to raise money for next month's special election.

Quigley is expected to meet with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.; House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., and members of Illinois' congressional delegation, among others. Illinois Democrats also are hosting a fundraiser for Quigley.

The two-day trip comes two weeks after Quigley won a crowded Democratic primary for the seat vacated by Rahm Emanuel, who resigned to become President Barack Obama's chief of staff. Quigley is the favorite in the April 7 special election in the heavily Democratic district, though he faces opposition from GOP and Green Party candidates.

"I'm here to get pretty much get the lay of the land," Quigley told reporters on Tuesday afternoon. "I'm not taking the April 7 election lightly."

Quigley told reporters he would develop a portfolio of issues to focus on, and named environmental issues and government transparency as two key topics. He pledged to put all of his contributions online and said he would invite reporters to attend his fundraisers going forward.

Quigley also pledged to make his full daily schedule available to reporters.

If he wins next month, the Cook County commissioner would have some storied acts to follow. But political observers say his style would be very different from his most recent predecessors, who had outsized personalities and won with the blessing of the Chicago political establishment.

Former Rep. Dan Rostenkowski represented the 5th District for more than 30 years before he lost a Democratic primary and was convicted of mail fraud. Quigley, on the other hand, has worked to set himself apart from Chicago's notorious political machine and cast himself as a reformer, picking fights with key members of the establishment.

Quigley also lacks the notoriety or panache of disgraced former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who used the seat as a springboard to the governor's mansion, or Emanuel, known for his aggressive and outspoken style, said Laura Washington, a professor at DePaul University and a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times.

"I don't think he's going to be as much of a character as some of his predecessors," Washington said. "A lot of people tease him because he's glum, maybe even grim personality. He's very somber ... very serious about his work."

Quigley's reputation as a reformer also will be tested when he is put on a bigger stage than the Cook County Board, said Pat O'Connor, a Chicago alderman who ran against Quigley in the 5th District primary.

"Mike, in his politics, has served in a body where he has been swimming against the stream, so I'm not sure how that plays out in a body with 435 votes, as opposed to a body with just 20," O'Connor said. "That's an adjustment for anybody."

O'Connor, though, said Quigley had proven himself before.

"It's not like he came from the moon and doesn't know this place. Quigley's fought his battles. He's gone to the editorial boards and picked his battles," O'Connor said. "The challenge is how he finds his voice and how quickly he finds his voice."