Former Ald. Bob Fioretti to run for Cook County state’s attorney

Former 2nd Ward Ald. Bob Fioretti formally announced his bid Monday for Cook County state’s attorney.

Fioretti joins Democratic challengers and former prosecutors Bill Conway and Donna More, who are also seeking to oust incumbent Kim Foxx. There are also two Republicans vying for the spot: Pat O’Brien, a former Cook County circuit judge, and Christopher Pfannkuche, who ran against Foxx in 2016.

Fioretti confirmed he was running to the Chicago Sun-Times Nov. 22.

In February, Fioretti lost his second bid at becoming mayor, drawing just 0.77% of the vote. He previously ran for the position in 2015 and received a little over 7% of the vote then. in 2018, he ran against for Cook County Board president against Toni Preckwinkle.

“You can’t be effective if you’re at war with the police,” Fioretti said in a previous interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, referring to Foxx’s sour relationship with the Fraternal Order of Police who have called on her to resign in light of her office’s handling of the Jussie Smollett case.

The former “Empire” actor was accused of making a false report to Chicago police and was indicted in March on 16 counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly lying about being attacked in a hate crime. Weeks later, the state’s attorney’s office abruptly dropped the charges, sparking outrage as well as confusion.

“I wouldn’t be running against her if I thought she was doing a good job,” Fioretti said. “Smollett is just the tip of the iceberg for what’s happening. … We need to restore confidence between that office, police departments and multiple jurisdictions, not just the suburbs and the city, but federal ones and communities. That’s the only way we stop the crime that’s happening.”