By Illinois Review
From 2007-2015, Bob Fioretti served as a Democratic Alderman for Ward 2 on the Chicago City Council.
In 2012, Fioretti proudly voted for President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, saying “no question about it…and I’m proud of it,” during an Election Day interview outside of a polling station.
In 2013, Fioretti was a founding member of the Chicago City Council’s Progressive Caucus – a group comprised of the most progressive Democrats at City Call.
Today the Progressive Caucus’ Political Action Committee is funded in large party by labor unions including the SEIU Illinois Council, AFSCME Illinois Council No. 31 and the Chicago’s Teachers Union.
In 2019, the Progressive Caucus targeted the business community and proposed tax increases to address the city’s budget crisis.
And in 2020, the caucus called for the removal of the Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park, tweeting, “Thanks to the hard work of Black, Brown and Indigenous youth, a monument to hate and discrimination has come down. The legacy of Christopher Columbus is not what Chicago stands for and this is a step in the right direction.”
In 2014, Fioretti and the Progressive Caucus introduced a measure to raise the minimum wage in the City of Chicago to $15 per hour.
In 2015, Fioretti ran unsuccessfully for Chicago Mayor.
During an interview with the Windy City Times as a mayoral candidate on December 19, 2014, Fioretti said, “I was one of the first aldermen to come out for marriage equality…I’ve always been a strong supporter of civil unions and marriage equality.”
In that same interview, Fioretti also expressed his support for the transgender community, stating, “it’s a community that needs assistance, help and recognition.”
In addition to the video interview, Fioretti also submitted his answers to a Windy City Times Candidate Questionnaire stating that “a woman should have a right to choose what is best for her own body, and I fully support all legislation that keeps abortion safe and legal.”
On March 29, 2015, Fioretti endorsed Chicago Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel for re-election, saying, “I will be casting my vote for Rahm Emanuel.”
In 2016, Fioretti ran for Illinois State Senate District 5 in the Democratic Primary, losing to incumbent Patricia Van Pelt by 35 points.
In 2018, Fioretti ran for Cook County Board President in the Democratic Primary, losing to incumbent Toni Preckwinkle by 21 points.
Fioretti also proposed changing Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago to Obama Plaza, in honor of the 44th President of the United States during a press conference in December 2018.
In 2019, Fioretti ran for Chicago Mayor in the Primary, where he finished in 12th place.
Lighfoot would win the runoff election against Preckwinkle by 47 points – becoming Chicago’s 56th Mayor.
In 2020, Fioretti ran for Cook County State’s Attorney in the Democratic Primary, where he finished in fourth place – losing to Kim Foxx by 45 points.
During a state’s attorney candidate questionnaire for the Patch, Fioretti wrote that he’s “proud of my progressive record and history. Co-founder of the Progressive Caucus in the City Council, early supporter of same sex marriage, $15 minimum wage….strong supporter of women’s reproductive rights…”
Foxx would defeat Republican Patrick O’Brien by 15 points in the General Election.
And in 2022, Fioretti ran for Cook County Board President against Preckwinkle again – only this time, as a Republican, after years of humiliating election defeats running as a Democrat.
And Fioretti would lose to Preckwinkle again – this time by 38 points.
But despite Fioretti’s record as a Democrat, and his longtime support of issues like abortion, same sex marriage and transgender rights – and the fact that he last ran as a Democrat in 2020 – that didn’t seem to bother Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy, who hosted a fundraiser for Fioretti last October and made a personal donation to his campaign on September 2, 2022.
The State Board of Elections website even lists a $5,000 donation from the Illinois Republican Party to ‘Fioretti for Cook’ on November 1, 2022 – which is presumably for mailers.
The website also lists a $70,000 donation from the Illinois Republican Party to ‘Hart for DuPage’ on October 18, 2022 – presumably for mailers as well.
In October, the IL GOP sent out a pro-choice mailer on behalf of Hart’s campaign with the words, “Paid for by the Illinois Republican Party” – representing a direct violation of the Illinois Republican Party Platform.
What’s missing? Contributions from the Illinois Republican Party and Don Tracy to conservative grassroots candidates.
Supporting Fioretti is also a direct violation of the Illinois Republican Party Platform, which promotes pro-life and pro-traditional family values and principles. And nowhere does the party platform discuss support for abortion, same sex marriage and transgender rights.
And Tracy should know better as the leader of the Illinois Republican Party.
However, Tracy’s support for Fioretti and Hart isn’t a surprise.
After all, in 2002, Tracy ran in the Illinois Primary for the 50th State Senate District as a Democrat.
In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, Tracy’s family-owned business, Dot Foods – where he is an owner, donated to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
And recent revelations uncovered by Illinois Review reveal that on September 4, 2020 – just months before his election as chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, Tracy made a personal donation to Citizens for Judge Emily Sutton – a Democrat running for Circuit Court Judge in the 9th Judicial Circuit of Illinois.
And in 2014, during an interview with Illinois political reporter Bernard Schoeburg, Tracy admitted that he’s actually an “independent,” and when reflecting on his 2002 state senate campaign, he said, “I thought I could be more independent as a Democrat in a county where the Democrat Party was weak.”
In other words, Tracy’s a political opportunist, and he is guided not by principles, but by whatever is convenient and gets him the most influence.
Sounds just like his pal Fioretti. After all, they do share similar winning records.
