Among Hispanic politicians in Chicago and Cook County, there are dozens who aspire to be the proverbial "King of the Hill," or "Rey de la Loma." They have staked out their turf, and they will do battle to protect it from encroachment by other ambitious Hispanic politicians.

But no Hispanic has emerged as a viable contender to become the "King of the Mountain," or "Rey de la Montana," which means Chicago mayor or the Cook County Board president.

However, with the Daley Administration enmeshed in scandals concerning the Hired Trucks program, the Building Department, car towing, O'Hare contracts and minority businesses; and with Mayor Rich Daley raising taxes to close a budget shortfall, the possibility of an incumbent-free 2007 Chicago mayoral election has dawned on quite a few Hispanic politicians. The time for a Hispanic mayor could be near.

As disclosed in a recent poll by McCulloch Research and Polling, conducted last November, there is no consensus among Hispanics as to their political leader. In a survey of 600 Hispanic voters, 58.5 percent proclaimed that there is no local Hispanic leader of comparable stature to that, among blacks, of the late Mayor Harold Washington, U.S. Senator Barack Obama or U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. Of the 32.8 percent who professed that there is such a Hispanic leader, 10.7 percent named U.S. Representative Luis Gutierrez, 5.7 percent named former city treasurer Miriam Santos, 3.5 percent named Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner M. Frank Avila, 2.8 percent named losing 2004 U.S. Senate primary candidate Gery Chico, and 2.2 percent named Alderman Manny Flores.

And, with the next mayoral election just 2 years away, the struggle for Hispanic leadership will get murkier before it becomes clearer. Several turf wars have already begun, and the federal investigation into the Hired Truck program could implicate Daley's Hispanic Democratic Organization, which boasts enormous political clout in the city's Hispanic-majority wards. Here's a look at what's happening in various "Rey de la Loma" battles:

Cicero: When in trouble, change the rules.

Cicero has long been a Republican bastion, but now it is more than 77 percent Hispanic. In the 2003 special election to replace convicted Town President Betty Loren-Maltese, the Republican candidate, Ramiro Gonzalez, easily beat Democrat Joseph Mario Moreno, a county commissioner, by a vote of 8,198-5,382. In 2001 Moreno lost to Loren-Maltese, who was then under investigation, by 9,492-6,444.

But unlike Hispanics nationwide, who are trending Republican, having given 44 percent of their vote to President George Bush, Cicero's Hispanics are trending Democratic. In 2004 Cicero went 9,707-5,093 for John Kerry over Bush, and Obama won 10,310-2,919. Also, the area's state representative, Frank Aguilar, the first Hispanic Republican elected to the Illinois House, was upset by an unknown Democrat.

The behind-the-scenes power in Cicero is Ed Vrdolyak, the former Chicago alderman who turned Republican in 1987 and whose law firm represents the town. Sensing a seismic demographic-spurred political shift, Vrdolyak quietly put a referendum on last November's ballot to abolish partisan elections for town office. It passed overwhelmingly. So now Gonzalez is spared the unpleasant choice of either running for re-election in April as a Republican or switching to the Democrats and running in a Democratic primary. Now he can run without party affiliation in the nonpartisan Feb. 22 primary.

Moreno, after two losses, is planning to run for County Board president in 2006. State Senator Martin Sandoval, who recently moved into Cicero, is taking a pass on the town presidency and likely will run for township Democratic committeeman in 2006. Gonzalez does have three opponents: Larry Dominick, Victor Armendariz and Louis DiCrescenzo. None of them is well funded. None is backed by the fractious local Democratic organization. And, even though all three have some local support, they will not get more than 50 percent of the vote among themselves, which would force Gonzalez into an April runoff.

The "Vrdolyak Machine" is alive and secure in Cicero for 4 more years.

Puerto Rico: In a remarkable development, this U.S. territory is trending Republican, which may or may not have an effect in Chicago.

In the 2004 election, a pro-statehood Republican, Luis Fortuno, was elected as the island's non-voting representative in the U.S. House, termed the resident commissioner, with a 4-year term. Fortuno is the first Republican to win that position since the 1940s. In another stunning development, the Republican candidate for governor, Pedro Rossello, barely lost to the Democrat, Anibal Acevedo-Vila.

Rumors have long circulated in Chicago that Gutierrez, who was born in Puerto Rico and who owns property there, aspires to the governorship if he can't be Chicago mayor. Gutierrez does not favor Puerto Rican statehood; instead, he seeks Puerto Rican independence. The congressman was an outspoken opponent of Navy bombing exercises on the island of Vieques, off the Puerto Rican coast.

By 2008, the issue of statehood-versus-independence may be ripe, and Gutierrez could leave Congress to run for governor of Puerto Rico. That would open his Hispanic-majority 4th U.S. House District seat and prompt a fierce contest for the succession.

1st Illinois Senate District (near South Side): Former Chicago police officer Tony Munoz, with strong backing by the HDO, scored a huge upset in the 1998 Democratic primary, defeating state Senator Jesus Garcia by 6,924-5,964. Garcia was a former 22nd Ward alderman who was part of the City Council's pro-Washington bloc. Munoz was renominated without opposition in 2002, and his term expires in 2006. Centered on the 11th and 14th wards, the district runs from 16th Street to 50th Street, between Racine on the east and Laramie on the west.

The Hired Truck scandal, however, is a huge cloud on Munoz's horizon. Angelo Torres, who ran the $40 million-a-year Hired Truck program, is under federal indictment on corruption and bribery charges. Munoz and the HDO reportedly sponsored Torres for the city post. Torres is the cousin of Munoz' wife, and Munoz is the godfather of one of Torres' children. Given this close familial and political connection, Munoz could be associated with the scandal. If that occurs, Munoz will face primary opposition in 2006, and he likely would lose.

1st Illinois House District (Near South Side): Incumbent Democrat Susana Mendoza, a protege of 12th Ward Alderman Ray Frias, upset incumbent Sonia Silva in the 2000 primary by a vote of 4,343-3,530. In 2003 the HDO targeted Frias for defeat in his Mexican-American ward, and George Cardenas beat him. However, Mendoza, after her first election, joined the 11th Ward Democratic Organization, headed by Daley's brother John, and she now is secure.

3rd Illinois House District (Near Northwest Side/Diversey-Kedzie area): Incumbent Willie Delgado serves at the whim of powerful 35th Ward Democratic Committeeman Joe Berrios, a Board of Review commissioner. In 2002 Delgado won the Democratic primary by 124 votes, and in 2004 he won by 2,569 votes. As long as Berrios backs him, Delgado stays in Springfield.

4th Illinois House District (Near Northwest Side): Incumbent Cynthia Soto learned a lesson from her predecessor, Edgar Lopez -- don't go to Cuba. Lopez accompanied former governor George Ryan on his 1999 trade mission to Cuba, a fact that upset many Hispanics in his district. Soto beat him 6,498-4,900 in the 2000 primary, and she has been safe since.

25th Ward (Near South Side/Pilsen): Alderman Danny Solis has long been known as Daley's favorite Hispanic alderman. But his ward is changing, as affluent whites spread beyond the gentrified Taylor-Halsted area, pushing out Hispanics. In 2003, against a convicted former alderman, Solis won with only 54 percent of the vote. Solis could run for city clerk in 2007; if he doesn't, he will face a tough re-election race.

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District: M. Frank Avila, after having run and lost the Democratic primaries in 1998 and 2000, won a commissioner's spot in 2002, making him the highest ranking Hispanic county official. Three commissioners are elected each election year, and Democrats always win. Avila's son, attorney Frank Avila, ran in the primary in 2004 and finished a close fourth, just 38,745 votes behind incumbent Gloria Majewski.

Frank Avila handled the federal lawsuit that overturned the city's 2-year residency requirement to run for alderman, thereby permitting Manny Flores to remain on the ballot in the 1st Ward. Flores upset HDO-backed incumbent Jesse Granato in the runoff, and he repaid the favor by running his aide, Xochitl Flores, in the 11-candidate 2004 MWRD primary. She was first on the ballot, and Avila said that she "took many votes away from me."

The alderman and Avila have since patched up their differences, and Xochitl Flores will not run again in 2006. Avila will. Water district President Terry O'Brien and Commissioner William Harris, who is black, will run again. Commissioner Harry "Bus" Yourell is retiring, and his "suburban slot" on the slate will be taken by Leyden Township Democratic Committeeman Barrett Pedersen.

"It will be 1998 all over again," predicted Avila. That year, in a 14-candidate primary, two incumbents and Proviso Township Committeeman Gary Marinaro were listed in the top three spots on the ballot, but 1 a popular black candidate was last on the ballot, and she easily topped Marinaro. "I will win in 2006," said Avila. And if he does, he'll be a major player on the Hispanic political stage.