[1] In 1975, Mayor Richard J. Daley named him as the Democratic committeeman for Chicago's 23rd Ward, in the southwestern portion of the city.

[3] In 1982, he challenged incumbent Democrat John G. Fary in the primary for Illinois's 5th congressional district, which included most of southwestern Chicago.

Lipinski defeated Russo in the 1992 Democratic primary, mainly by running up his margins in the Chicago portion of the district—which is virtually coextensive with the 23rd Ward.

On August 13, 2004, however, Lipinski withdrew his name from the November 2 general election ballot, announcing that he would retire at the end of his 11th term, which expired on January 3, 2005.

As the 23rd Ward committeeman, he was able to persuade state Democratic party leaders to name his son, Dan Lipinski, a University of Tennessee professor, to replace him on the ballot.

[10] In its first eight years, the firm was paid $4 million by clients with business before the House Transportation Committee: the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, BNSF Railway, and the Association of American Railroads.