Congressman Dan Lipinski, the Democrat from Illinois' 3^rd District (which includes Western Springs, La Grange, La Grange Park, and parts of Burr Ridge) joined 18 other Democrats on Wednesday to vote against installing Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as Democratic minority leader in the 112^th Congress.

Lipinski, generally considered a political moderate, is said to have had rocky relations with Pelosi, an outspoken liberal, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Instead, the Western Springs resident voted for Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), a fellow Polish-American beginning her 15^th term in the House of Representatives.

"During her long career in the House, Ms. Kaptur has always been a strong voice for American workers, especially those working in manufacturing in the Midwest, and like myself was a fierce opponent of the Wall Street bailout," Lipinski said in a statement. "American manufacturing workers have been hit hard in the past decade, especially during this terrible recession that we are still trying to dig our way out of.

"During her time in Congress, Marcy has also been a courageous pro-life voice, and has been very active on issues important to American relations with Central Europe, especially Poland, and to all those Americans who trace their ancestry to that region"

According to the Sun-Times, Lipinski admitted that his vote was "largely symbolic." Pelosi received 173 Democratic-aligned leadership votes, with only 19 in favor of other candidates. New Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) received 241 Republican-aligned votes.

Lipinski is in his fourth term as the 3^rd District representative. He is noteworthy as being a pro-life Democrat, and previously voted against the stimulus package and the health care bill, as well as originally against repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" before reversing his position after a Pentagon report supported repeal. He is also known as a financial hawk with a strong stance against bailouts.

"I think people don't believe that one party or the other holds all the answers, and some are afraid that none of them hold the answers," Lipinski told Patch after his reelection in November.