* I’ve heard some grumblings from some folks about this very topic, but nobody has really brought it out in kinda/sorta public until now…

U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) is helping the re-election campaign of state Rep. Maria Antonia “Toni” Berrios (D-Chicago) with a robocall in which he says Berrios is opposed by “those who want to silence Latino voices.”

Berrios faces a primary challenge in Tuesday’s election from Will Guzzardi, who nearly unseated her two years ago and now has the backing of several prominent Latino elected officials.

“I’m outraged that there are groups working to reduce the number of Latino public servants in the state legislature at a time Latino voices should be stronger,” Gutierrez says in the recorded message to voters in the Northwest Side’s 39th Illinois House District. “They want us to be weak … Stand up to those who want to silence Latino voices and support Toni Berrios.”

Some other Latino politicians clearly do not see the race in the same way as Gutierrez — with Guzzardi, who is white, winning endorsements from state Sen. Willie Delgado (D-Chicago) and Ald. Joe Moreno (1st).

It’s gonna get even uglier before it’s over. Bank on it.

…Adding… Gutierrez, you may recall, was with GOP Rep. Skip Saviano in 2012. He’s not been in good graces with the Madigan folks since then, so it’s an interesting little move by him. Also, one of the ways the HDems neutralized Gutierrez in 2012 was to point out that he was Puerto Rican and the district’s Latino voters were from Mexico. Remember Sen. Sandoval getting led out of a community meeting by the coppers while he was shouting about this “issue”? So, now the congressman is basically doing the same thing.