**Editors note: Illinois Review does not endorse candidates, We offer any candidate the opportunity to present their “Spotlight” as long as it does not attack their primary opponent- if applicable , and shows their platform / stances. This is a candidate submitted article- IR does not edit or change anything written”
I am Bob Fioretti, Republican candidate for Cook County State’s Attorney. I thank Illinois Review for the chance to share with their audience information about my candidacy. It is a statewide audience, and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office has impact on all of Illinois. Chicago and Cook County are the face of Illinois to the world.
I am running to restore the rule of law and make sure that crimevictims are represented. I want to break the cycle of crime and corruption that has existed for too long in Cook County.
Violent crime is out of control, and a prime reason is the revolving door with no lock at Cook County Jail. How often have you read of shootings and murders committed by individuals who have long criminal histories but escaped effective prosecution? With over two months left in 2024 there have been 2,441 people shot in Chicago, just 45 short of the total for 2023. The revolving door is a policy of Soros prosecutors like Kim Foxx.
For the last eight years Foxx treated criminals as victims and real victims as an afterthought. Her retail theft policies require $1,000 goods be stolen before the crime is charged as a felony. This wounds the Cook County business environment. Thieves steal at their leisure, as if they were shopping. Retailers have security costs that chase them out of business. The quality of life of honest citizens is adversely impacted.
I will enforce the law as written. I will make sure to stand up for victims and their families. I will return professionalism to the office and work with law enforcement, not against it.
Also on the agenda: human and deadly drug trafficking. Chicago is not only a national transportation hub but a centralized hub for crime. I will reach out to federal partners and neighboring agencies to prosecute gangs and traffickers that cross county and state boundaries. It doesn’t matter what zip code you’re from, criminals will be prosecuted.
My background as a civil rights attorney, and experience in Chicago and Cook County government brings a well-rounded perspective to the office. When I and my assistants stand up incourt and announce that we are there on behalf of the people of the State of Illinois it will be with the understanding that ourobligation is to justice.
My time as a Chicago alderman provides me with the understanding to navigate between the State’s Attorney’s office and police agencies like the Chicago Police Department. It is crucial to have a strong, collegial relationship with our law enforcement partners.
My experience includes being a Senior Supervising Attorney for the Corporation Counsel of Chicago Mayor Harold Washington’s administration. I’ve been involved in more than 500 civil rights cases, with trial experience that has led to more than 100 state and federal verdicts and appellate court decisions. I have been appointed to numerous cases as an Illinois Special Assistant Attorney General and Special Assistant State’s Attorney.
This trial and courtroom experience provides the knowledge to supervise and train the prosecutors to be the most effective court room advocates for the people. My government and private practice experience gives me the background to set effectiveprosecution policy and be a faithful steward of the people’s resources.
These experiences earned endorsements from diversecommunity leaders like civil rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson and Retired Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel.
Rev. Jackson stated: “… This is about electing our community’s best State’s Attorney, who will temper justice with mercy…. When the Republican candidate is extraordinary and the choice is crystal clear, we back the Republican, especially if his name is Bob Fioretti.”
As Chief Weitzel put it: “This is not a Republican-Democratic issue for me; it is strictly about the best individual to lead the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and have public safety as its driving force. I believe that Bob Fioretti is that person.”
Businessman and former candidate for Illinois Governor Gary Rabine has described the coalition coming together in support of the Fioretti campaign as a “team of rivals.” It is the kind of coalition needed for a Republican to win in Cook County. The coalition is bolstered by the Turn Chicago Red movement inspired by Democrat policies that have not just been neglectful of Chicagoans, but downright abusive.
Like Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump, I was a Democrat in my prior life. Like Presidents Reagan and Trump, the Democrat party left me. This is evident when Soros prosecutors like Kim Foxx or potentially Eileen Burke celebrate criminals and demonize law enforcement.
If she were elected, my opponent will be Kim Foxx 2.0. After winning the Democrat nomination Eileen Burke proclaimed said that she will NOT be “very hard on crime”. She did not pledge to protect the citizens from shootings and deaths that are reported like sports box scores. She didn’t pledge to prosecute retail theft that closes business creating food and pharmacy deserts. She pledged not to be “hard on crime”. Previously in her career, Burke has demonstrated a disdain for the US Constitution.
In line with Democrat fondness for censorship, Burke pledged to create a “Choice Protection Unit”, better termed the First Amendment Prosecutions Unit. Burke intends to target for prosecution people expressing political views with whom she disagrees. David Shestokas and Monte Larrick discuss this dangerous proposal in the Illinois Family Action Spotlight. Illinois Review addressed this issue as well last month in Eileen Burke’s First Amendment Prosecution Unit Targets Free Speech, Pro-Life Protesters.
Chicago and Cook County are the face of Illinois to the nation and the world. This face has been sullied by the failure to enforce the law as written. If elected, that is what I will do, not only to the benefit of the people of Cook County, but to the benefit of everyone in Illinois, so please share this far and wide and visit Fioretti For Cook to learn more and how you can help.
Thank you, Bob Fioretti.
