Robert William Fioretti (born March 8, 1953) is an American attorney and politician who served as an alderman in the
Chicago City Council
The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is gaveled into session regularly, usually mont ...
for the 2nd Ward, which included portions of
Bronzeville,
East Garfield Park,
Illinois Medical District
The Illinois Medical District (IMD) is a special-use zoning district two miles west of the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. The Illinois Medical District consists of 560 acres of medical research facilities, labs, a biotechnology business incubator ...
,
Little Italy
Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are s ...
,
Loop
Loop or LOOP may refer to:
Brands and enterprises
* Loop (mobile), a Bulgarian virtual network operator and co-founder of Loop Live
* Loop, clothing, a company founded by Carlos Vasquez in the 1990s and worn by Digable Planets
* Loop Mobile, an ...
,
Near West Side,
Prairie District,
South Loop,
University Village University Village may mean:
* University Village, Albany, California
*University Village, Chicago, Illinois
*University Village, Grand Forks, North Dakota
* University Village, New York
* University Village, Riverside, California
*University Villa ...
, Westhaven, and
West Loop
The Near West Side, one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, is on the West Side, west of the Chicago River and adjacent to the Loop. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 started on the Near West Side. Waves of immigration shaped the history of the ...
. Bob first ran for office because of inequities and disinvestments he saw throughout the City of Chicago and communities of the 2nd Ward. He first won election as alderman in 2007 and was re-elected in 2011. He also served as 2nd Ward Democratic Committeeman for two terms, which is a position in the Cook County Democratic Party.
When ward boundaries were re-drawn after the 2010 Census, the original area in the 2nd ward was divided into several wards, and Fioretti did not run for re-election. Since leaving City Council, Fioretti has run for several other elected offices.
Background/education
Fioretti was born and raised in Chicago's
Pullman and
Roseland neighborhoods. He is the son of a
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
-American mother and an
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
immigrant father who moved to Chicago and worked for the Pullman train car company. Fioretti attended St. Anthony's Grammar School and Mendel High School on the
South Side of Chicago. He received a Pullman Foundation scholarship to attend the
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
, where he studied political science and served as student body president.
Fioretti earned his
J.D. degree from
Northern Illinois University College of Law
Northern Illinois University College of Law (NIU Law) is one of four public law schools in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is one of two public law schools in the Chicago area. The College of Law was founded as the Lewis University College of Law ...
, where he remains a member of the adjunct faculty. He serves on the Law School Alumni Council and the NIU Board of Visitors. He previously served as president of the NIU National Alumni Association from 2000 to 2004. During his tenure as president, Fioretti oversaw the establishment of a Chicago alumni office, the formation of a quarterly alumni magazine, and the creation of the Barsema Alumni Center on campus, created the law student travel overseas program, and helped establish a scholarship endowment program. Fioretti also served as president of the NIU College of Law Alumni Council. He has spoken at graduation lauding NIU as an incredible asset to the state of Illinois education and empowering students to become successful professionals in many fields of endeavor. He regularly mentors law school students and underwrites the annual Helene and Edward Fioretti Memorial Scholarship in Ethics in honor of his parents.
Personal life
Fioretti currently lives on Chicago’s
Near West Side, with his wife, Nicki.
Fioretti survived throat cancer, which he was diagnosed with in late-2010.
In 2019 Fioretti published, "My Cancer Journey: In Seven Parts." Fioretti described the book by stating, "You now belong to a club where no one wants to be a member. Words no one wants to hear. But there is nothing you negotiate to get out of it once it happens to you. My Cancer Journey chronicles what I, and my wife, Nicki, went through from my diagnosis to treatment, recovery and our new normal today."
Legal career
Fioretti, a long-time civil rights lawyer, is currently a partner in the law firm Roth Fioretti LLC in Chicago, where he practices governmental law and complex litigation. He is a seasoned civil litigator and has litigated a wide variety of cases before federal and state administrative law judges as well as in the state and federal courts. He is a former Senior Supervising Attorney of the General Litigation Division for the Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago, working with Mayor Harold Washington during the time of Council Wars. While there, he was involved in more than 500 civil rights cases, and his personal trail experiences have led to over 100 state and federal verdicts and appellate court decisions. Bob has advised and represented many governmental units. He has been appointed in numerous cases as a Special Assistant Attorney General of Illinois and a Special Assistant State's Attorney.
Long before it was popular, Fioretti fought to free people of color wrongly accused of crimes they did not commit. In 2006 Fioretti was the attorney for LaFonso Rollins, a young African American sentenced to 75 years in jail for rape. Rollins had spent 11 years in prison before being exonerated in 2004 by DNA testing. He was awarded a $9 million settlement in a wrongful conviction lawsuit against the City of Chicago.
He represented the family of Baby Tamia in the high-profile interstate adoption case that led to changes in Illinois adoption law. This high-profile adoption case spurred legislation in Illinois, providing sweeping protections for birth parents and established the state as a model for adoption reform. Previously Illinois adoption law has been discriminatory against poor families of color involved in the adoption process.
Aldermanic career
In 2007, Fioretti ran for Alderman of Chicago's 2nd Ward, challenging 14-year incumbent Madeline Haithcock. He secured the most votes in the February primary and forced a run-off with Haithcock. In the run-off, Fioretti defeated Haithcock, by nearly a two-to-one margin. Fioretti took office on May 21, 2007. In 2011, Fioretti was re-elected to a second term. Following that election, Fioretti's colleagues. along with the Mayor, agreed to a re-districting map that left Fioretti with none of his original ward. Fioretti was one of only two Aldermen to so lose their ward. Fioretti subsequently chose to run for election as Mayor.
Fioretti had come into conflict with mayor
Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Israel Emanuel (; born November 29, 1959) is an American politician and diplomat who is the current United States Ambassador to Japan. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served two terms as the 55th Mayor of Chicago from 2011 ...
many times, including over siding with a successful resistance to Emanuel's efforts to move the water fee exemption for some nonprofits and religious groups in the city's budget and unsuccessfully opposing the licensing of
rideshare companies such as
Uber
Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery (Uber Eats and Postmates), package ...
and
Lyft
Lyft, Inc. offers mobility as a service, ride-hailing, vehicles for hire, motorized scooters, a bicycle-sharing system, rental cars, and food delivery in the United States and select cities in Canada. Lyft sets fares, which vary using a dynamic ...
.
Education and jobs
Since taking office, Fioretti has prioritized education and job creation in his legislative agenda. Fioretti has attempted to improve the
Chicago Public School system, working closely with administrators to solve issues both in and out of the classroom. In 2008, Fioretti helped to create "Operation Safe Passage," an initiative designed to protect students on the way to and from school that coordinated the resources of the
Chicago Police Department
The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the municipal law enforcement agency of the U.S. city of Chicago, Illinois, under the jurisdiction of the City Council. It is the second-largest municipal police department in the United States, behind t ...
, the CTA, local faith-based institutions, and families. Fioretti supported the expansion of
Jones College Prep High School and oversaw
Roosevelt University's expansion into Chicago's
South Loop. In 2011, Fioretti won the "Defender of Public Education" Award from the
Chicago Teachers Union
The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is a labor union that represents teachers, paraprofessionals, and clinicians in the Chicago public school system. The union has consistently fought for improved pay, benefits, and job security for its members, an ...
, AFT Local 1 for his efforts at modernizing and sustaining neighborhood schools.
Fioretti has facilitated the creation and preservation of jobs in Chicago. He supported the
relocation of the
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. headquarters, bringing approximately 2,500 jobs from
Elk Grove to Chicago. Fioretti also led the effort to renovate and expand the
Chicago Mercantile Exchange
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) (often called "the Chicago Merc", or "the Merc") is a global derivatives marketplace based in Chicago and located at 20 S. Wacker Drive. The CME was founded in 1898 as the Chicago Butter and Egg Board, an a ...
to keep the world's largest futures and options exchange as an anchor of Chicago's
financial district
A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies and other related finance corporations have their head offices. In major cities, financial districts are often home to s ...
.
Fioretti has also led efforts to combat the problem of "food deserts" on Chicago's
West Side
West Side or Westside may refer to:
Places Canada
* West Side, a neighbourhood of Windsor, Ontario
* West Side, a neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia
United Kingdom
* West Side, Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland
* Westside, Birmingham E ...
by working to bring low-cost food retailers into previously under-served neighborhoods. Pete's Fresh Market,
Target
Target may refer to:
Physical items
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
, and
Costco
Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costco i ...
have agreed to open new locations within the 2nd Ward, providing food retailers and jobs to West Side residents.
Parks
For his efforts to improve and expand parks in the 2nd Ward, Fioretti received the 2009 "Legislator of the Year" award from
Friends of the Parks
Friends of the Parks (FOTP) is a non-profit organization in Chicago, Illinois. Formed in 1975, it acts as a watchdog group and environmental advocate for the Chicago area. Specifically, it monitors the condition and safety of the Chicago Park D ...
, a non-profit, Chicago-based park advocacy group. During his tenure as alderman, Fioretti has budgeted city resources to open several new parks in the 2nd Ward.
However, he alienated parks groups when he voted to allow the
Chicago Children's Museum
The Chicago Children's Museum is located at Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1982 by The Junior League of Chicago who were responding to programming cutbacks in the Chicago Public Schools. Originally housed in two hallways of the ...
to relocate to
Grant Park. That move was later challenged in court and
Mayor Daley later withdrew the plan and the museum remained at
Navy Pier
Navy Pier is a pier on the shoreline of Lake Michigan, located in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Navy Pier encompasses over of parks, gardens, shops, restaurants, famil ...
.
Council activities
Fioretti served on five committees in
Chicago's city council: Environmental Protection & Public Utilities, Health, License & Consumer Protection, Rules & Ethics, and Special Events.
Pursuits of higher office
Chicago mayoral candidacies
Fioretti twice ran for
Mayor of Chicago
The mayor of Chicago is the chief executive of city government in Chicago, Illinois, the third-largest city in the United States. The mayor is responsible for the administration and management of various city departments, submits proposals and r ...
. Fioretti had originally been considering a bid for mayor in the
2011 Chicago mayoral election
The city of Chicago, Illinois held a nonpartisan mayoral election on Tuesday, February 22, 2011. Incumbent Mayor Richard Michael Daley, a member of the Democratic Party who had been in office since 1989, did not seek a seventh term as mayor. T ...
, but canceled these plans after his diagnosis with throat cancer.
[ He would later run in next two mayoral elections (2015 and 2019).
]
2015 mayoral campaign
Fioretti was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2015 Chicago mayoral election.
Fioretti enjoyed support from former Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
coach Mike Ditka
Michael Keller Ditka (born Michael Dyczko; October 18, 1939) is an American former football player, coach, and television commentator. A member of both the College (1986) and the Pro (1988) Football Halls of Fame, he was UPI NFL Rookie of Year i ...
and withdrawn candidate Amara Enyia, as well as endorsements from the Chicago Police Sergeants Association, the Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
of Chicago, and the Progressive Caucus of the Chicago City Council.
Fioretti ultimately placed fourth of five candidates in the initial round of the election, with 35,363 votes, equal to 7.39% of the overall vote. Having been eliminated, Fioretti endorsed Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Israel Emanuel (; born November 29, 1959) is an American politician and diplomat who is the current United States Ambassador to Japan. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served two terms as the 55th Mayor of Chicago from 2011 ...
in the runoff.
2019 mayoral campaign
On November 26, 2018, Fioretti announced his candidacy for mayor in the 2019 election to replace Rahm Emanuel. He was again unsuccessful in his pursuit of Chicago mayoralty. Fioretti placed twelfth of fourteen candidates, with 4,302 votes, equal to 0.77% of the overall vote.
Cook County offices
2018 Cook County Board President campaign
In November 2017, he announced that he would challenge incumbent Toni Preckwinkle
Toni Lynn Preckwinkle (née Reed; born March 17, 1947) is an American politician and the current County Board President in Cook County, Illinois, United States. She was first elected as President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, the e ...
for the Democratic nomination for President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners
The Cook County Board of Commissioners is a legislative body made up of 17 commissioners who are elected by district, and a president who is elected county-wide, all for four-year terms. Cook County, which includes the City of Chicago, is the Uni ...
. Fioretti lost to Preckwinkle in the March 20, 2018 Democratic primary.
2020 Cook County State's Attorney campaign
Fioretti was one of several candidates challenging incumbent Cook County State's Attorney
The Cook County State's Attorney functions as the state of Illinois's district attorney for Cook County, Illinois, and heads the second-largest prosecutor's office in the United States. The office has over 700 attorneys and 1,100 employees. In ad ...
Kim Foxx
Kimberly M. Foxx (née Anderson; born April 4, 1972) is an American politician, who is currently the Cook County State's Attorney, State's Attorney (district attorney) for Cook County, Illinois. She manages the second largest prosecutor's office ...
in the 2020 Democratic primary. He confirmed his candidacy to the Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
on November 22, 2019, and formally announced his candidacy on December 2, 2019. His candidacy was endorsed by Fraternal Order of Police
The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) is a fraternal organization consisting of sworn law enforcement officers in the United States. It reports a membership of over 355,000 members organized in 2,100 local chapters (lodges), state lodges, and the ...
Chicago Lodge #7. He placed fourth in the primary.
2022 Cook County Board President campaign
Fioretti ran as the Republican nominee for President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, once again challenging Preckwinkle, whom he lost to in the 2018 Democratic primary for the seat.
State Senate
In 2016, Fioretti unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Patricia Van Pelt
Patricia Van Pelt Watkins (born November 20, 1957) is a member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 5th district, which is located on the West Side of Chicago. Prior to her service as a member of the Illinois Senate she was a community activ ...
for the Democratic nomination for the 5th district of Illinois Senate
The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...
. Fioretti once again was defeated by Preckwinkle.
Electoral history
References
External links
Robert Fioretti
Aldermanic website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fioretti, Robert
1953 births
Chicago City Council members
Illinois Democrats
Illinois lawyers
Living people
Northern Illinois University alumni
American people of Italian descent