Republican Bob Fioretti on his bid for Cook County State’s Attorney

The attorney and Democrat-turned-Republican says he’d come down hard on violent criminals if he’s elected to be the county’s top prosecutor. As early voting expands in Chicago and Cook County, voters will choose between a Democrat, Republican and Libertarian to replace Kim Foxx as the next Cook County State’s Attorney. The state’s attorney – the county’s top prosecutor – oversees an office of about 1,300 employees and sets the tone for how justice is meted out in Cook County. Foxx, a progressive Democrat, is not seeking a third term. WBEZ’s Reset sat down with two of the candidates seeking to replace her. (Libertarian Andrew Charles Kopinski was not able to come to the station for an interview.) Democrat Eileen O’Neill Burke is a former appellate court judge, trial court judge, defense attorney and prosecutor with 33 years of experience in criminal justice. Republican Bob Fioretti is a private defense attorney and former Chicago alderman who previously ran unsuccessfully for Chicago mayor, Cook County Board president and Cook County State’s Attorney. A longtime Democrat, he switched his party affiliation in 2022. WBEZ: Why are you running to be Cook County State’s Attorney? Fioretti: I want to restore the rule of law. I want to make sure that the victims are being represented, and I want to break the whole cycle of crime and corruption that we see here in Cook County. And I believe I am the most qualified and best candidate for that position. WBEZ: What are your top priorities? Fioretti: Getting illegal guns off the streets is very important to everybody, but I'm going to enforce the law as written. I'm going to make sure that somebody is out there to stand up for victims and their families. I want to return professionalism to the office. I want to work with law enforcement, not against it. WBEZ: Thoughts on the SAFE-T Act, the Illinois law that eliminates cash bail for people awaiting criminal trial? Fioretti: The act was thrown onto everybody's desk in the middle of the night to be voted on a few hours later, and I doubt whether two thirds of the legislators read it. There are good parts to it, and there are bad parts that need amending. I think an assault on a police officer, an assault on an elder, should be detainable offenses. I think anybody that is in possession of an illegal machine gun should be detained. Those types of weapons are only meant to harm the public and the police officers. WBEZ: Would your office seek pretrial detention when the top charge is illegal gun possession? Fioretti: Every individual is a different type of case, but depending on how the law is written, I will seek detention for each and every one. WBEZ: What would you say distinguishes you from your chief opponent Democrat Eileen O’Neill Burke? Fioretti: I think integrity. The understanding of our criminal justice system. I have more experience than my opponent in the trial room. And I have had the experience of working with federal, state and local governments. As a private attorney. I've changed adoption laws here in the state of Illinois. She does not have that broad base of experience. Also part of my agenda: Human trafficking. Pre-pandemic we used to have 25,000 acts of prostitution a day. We're going to fight what needs to be done to make every community in this county have safe streets, strong communities and thriving businesses. It doesn't matter what zip code you're from, because people know I'm going to fight for them. --- WBEZ’s Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons is your forum for the Chicago conversation. We bring context to the latest local news with journalists, experts and newsmakers. And we cover a wide variety of beats from State and City Politics to Arts and Culture to the Environment. Every Tuesday, we talk Health and Wellness. Every Thursday, it’s Food and Music. We’re on the latest news stories throughout the week and on Fridays in our Weekly News Recap. 💻 Check out more Reset interviews: wbez.org/reset 📧 Sign up for our daily newsletter: wbez.org/resetnews 🎧 Listen to the Reset podcast: https://bit.ly/3Tog0N3