Republican Cook County State's Attorney candidate picks up Jackson endorsement

[October 15, 2024]  By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – A former Chicago Democratic alderman is challenging a retired judge in the battle for Cook County State’s Attorney.

Justice Eileen O’Neill Burke is the Democratic Party’s nominee to replace outgoing Democrat Kim Foxx as leader of the county’s top prosecuting office.

According to Republican Bob Fioretti, a former Democrat, people are tired of the crime they see on the streets.

“Everywhere I’m going, they say to me they are leaving this city, leaving this county because of crime or high taxes or lack of education opportunities,” Fioretti told The Center Square.

Fioretti said he wants to break the cycle of crime and corruption in Illinois.

“Every day we pick up a newspaper and we see something about more corruption here in this city or county or the state, and it’s costing us billions of dollars,” Fioretti said.

Fioretti was Chicago’s Second Ward alderman from 2007 to 2015. He finished fourth in the 2020 Democratic Party primary for Cook County State’s Attorney, which was won by incumbent Kim Foxx.

Fioretti is running against Burke and Libertarian Andrew Kopinski.

Fioretti admitted that Burke has a big financial advantage.

“You know, I’m not a multimillionaire like my opponent and the Democrats are,” Fioretti said.

Fioretti recently gained the endorsements of longtime civil rights activist Jesse Jackson Senior and former Illinois U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Highland Park.

Pastor David Lowery Jr., a pastor with Universal Baptist Church in Harvey, Illinois, stands along side Republican Cook County State’s Attorney candidate Bob Fioretti and Mark Carter of Chicago during a news conference in Milwaukee outside the Republican National Convention
Greg Bishop | The Center Square

Jackson ran for president as a Democrat in 1984 and in 1988. His son Jonathan is the incumbent Democratic U.S. Representative for Illinois’ First Congressional District. Republican Marcus Lewis is Jonathan Jackson’s opponent in the Nov. 5 election.

The elder Jackson released a statement to announce his endorsement of Fioretti.

“When the Republican candidate is extraordinary and the choice is crystal clear, we back the Republican, especially if his name is Bob Fioretti,” Jesse Jackson stated.

Fioretti told The Center Square he is concerned about election integrity in Cook County.

“I seriously am. We are building up a force of lawyers to make sure that we are watching what is happening in the polls, in the mail-in ballots as they come in,” Fioretti said.

Burke has rejected Fioretti’s challenge to participate in debates.

Burke’s campaign did not respond to The Center Square’s request for an interview.

According to Burke’s campaign website, “Eileen stepped down from the appellate court to run for Cook County State’s Attorney because she believed that the county’s justice system is not working for anyone.”