Republicans are trying to turn veteran Rep. Frank Annunzio into a casualty of the nation's savings and loan crisis. The 75-year-old Illinois Democrat has rolled over his competition in 12 re-election bids. But now he faces a tough challenge from a former Chicago cop who is hitting hard at Annunzio's dealing with the S&L crisis. Republican state Sen. Walter Dudycz contends Annunzio, who heads a House subcommittee that oversees thrifts, looked the other way while the crisis was brewing. Annunzio, meanwhile, points his finger at the GOP. He blames the Republican policies of the White House for the nation's S&L problems. He was among those who raised questions about the role of President Bush's son Neil as a director of the failed Silverado Banking, Savings & Loan Association in Denver. Annunzio proudly displays banners and buttons declaring, ``Jail the S&L Crooks.'' Dudycz has responded in kind. His buttons say, ``Jail Annunzio's S&L Friends.'' Analysts are predicting a close race and see the contest as a test case for voter reaction to the S&L disaster. ``People are looking to see if politicians will be blamed for the S&L scandal,'' said political analyst Don Rose. ``It's an issue that's at a low simmer in some places in the country, waiting to boil over.'' Dudycz questioned Annunzio's ethics when it was revealed that the congressman over the past decade had accepted more than $50,000 in campaign contributions tied to S&Ls. Annunzio contends there was no conflict of interest. ``This is truly a David vs. Goliath race - Frank Annunzio and the good-old-boy Democratic Party vs. Walter Dudycz and the taxpayers,'' said Dudycz. Annunzio insists it's the other way around. He said Republicans are exploiting Democratic crossover voting patterns to try to oust him from the 11th District, which includes part of northwest Chicago and suburban communities. ``The National Republican Party has earmarked me for defeat,'' Annunzio says. ``They thought I would play dead because of my age, but I'm not going to roll over.'' The National Republican Congressional Committee filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission claiming that Annunzio filed to provide employment information about 20 contributors who were associated with a Maryland thrift. Annunzio's camp maintained the complaint was GOP retribution for an S&L-related ethics complaint the Democrats filed against Republican Rep. Denny Smith of Oregon. Annunzio also has been criticized for reports that two of his sons-in-law once worked for the savings and loan industry's chief lobbying group, the U.S. League of Savings Institutions. And he admits he once tried to get one of them a position with the Federal Home Loan Bank Board in Chicago. He contends there ws nothing improper about the request and stresses that the position was non-paying. Annunzio has attacked Dudycz for being on the Cook County sheriff's payroll as a deputy while he was a state senator working primarily in downstate Springfield. Both men say their ties to the community will make the difference. Each uses ethnic working-class roots to seek support from a constituency composed of police officers, firefighters and other blue-collar residents who are first-generation Americans born of Eastern European parents. Annunzio - a senior citizen in a community with the highest median age of any Illinois district - casts himself as a champion of the elderly. He voted against recent federal budget bills because they contained cuts in Medicare. Dudycz, 40, is a relative newcomer to the political scene who calls himself an ``American's American.'' He attracted attention in 1989 when he led daily rallies at the Art Institute of Chicago to protest an exhibit displaying the U.S. flag on the floor. The self-styled populist has railed against increases in state income taxes and property taxes. He's counting on radio advertising and door-to-door canvassing to increase his name recognition. Annunzio, who has spent most of his recent time in Washington, is trying to make up for his absence with advertising bought from an $800,000 campaign war chest. ``We've basically had to change from a '60s type of campaign to a sophisticated marketing strategy - go from zero to 60 in 6.3 seconds,'' said Kevin Tynan, one of Annunzio's sons-in-law and his campaign manager.
