(CNSNews.com) – Lech Walesa, a Nobel Laureate and former leader of the Solidarity trade union in Poland, which helped topple 50 years of Soviet occupation there and end the Cold War, went to Chicago, Ill., last week to endorse a conservative Republican in the gubernatorial primary race but the local media largely ignored him.

This near-blackout by the media occurred despite the fact that 1 million people of Polish nationality live in Chicago, making it the city with the largest Polish population outside of Warsaw, Poland, and despite the fact that Walesa himself was the first post-Soviet president of Poland (from 1990 to 1995).

On Jan. 29, Walesa endorsed Adam Andrzejewski in the Republican primary for governor of Illinois at a rally in Chicago. Walesa stressed that he and Andrzekewski shared the same conservative values and commitment to freedom and opportunity.