Chicago's Alderman Fioretti sure sounds like he's interested in being the next mayor
Back in Monday, Ald Bob Fioretti (2nd) made a speech in front of the City Club of Chicago. And while he didn't announce a candidacy for Mayor of Chicago, he sure sounded like the man campaigning. Or at least testing the waters for his campaign.
Bob Fioretti speaks to the City Club of Chicago at Maggiano's on Monday. | Richard A. Chapman/Chicago Sun-Times
As the Chicago Sun-Times coverage of the event put it, he "unveiled a liberal, pro-union agenda that would make newly-elected New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio proud." Or, to put it another way, it checked off pretty much every checkmark on the Progressives' wish list. He wanted to make Chicago Public Schools board elected rather than appointed, increase in minimum wage, mandate paid sick live, reopen four city mental health clinics closed by current mayor Rahm Emanuel back in 2012, hire 500 more police officers. He lambasted the way Emanuel administration handled last year's school closings.
Oh, and he also said he wanted to cut the Chicago City Council in the half - an idea he floated before, and something that I'm still not convinced is a good idea. As an alderman, he knows better than anyone just how much Chicago aldermen do to keep their wards running. Giving aldermen twice as many constituents is only going to make ward offices' jobs harder.
Fioretti doesn't want to raise property taxes to make up for pension shortfalls, nor does he want to increase employee contributions. So how does he propose to pay for it?
To solve Chicago’s $20 billion pension crisis, Fioretti favors a one percent commuter tax on 620,000 suburbanites who earn their paychecks in Chicago, a broadening of the sales tax to include services and a land-based casino that has been on the city’s wish list for 25 years.
There are already two people who are planning to run against Emanuel - community activist Amara Enyia and former alderman Robert Shaw. Enyia isn't well-known outside poor South and West Side neighborhoods, and Shaw has a history of dubious political dealings. Fioretti, on the other hand, spent the last two years making a name for himself as one of the Emanuel's most outspoken critics and one of the biggest reformers in the City Council. As I've written before, he was one of the aldermen who got screwed over during the 2012 ward revamp, with his ward getting moved from portions of Near South Side and Near West Side to a stretch through a seemingly random string of blocks across Chicago's Near North Side, Lincoln Park and West Town community areas.
In the interests of full disclosure, I should add that I got to talk to Fioretti quite a bit when I was writing for the Chicago Journal. He struck me as a decent man who worked hard to respond to his constituents' concerns. And he did try to make the best of the unfortunate situation the City Council Old Guard stuck him him. I think he would make a good candidate. I think he would certainly be able to gather sizable support. He has dealt with issues in poor neighborhoods likes East Garfield Park and more well-off neighborhoods like South Loop, so he potentially has broad appeal.
But would Fioretti make a good mayor?
It's one thing to say all the right things. It's quite another to actually get to the position of power and try to make it happen. Chicago hasn't had a reform-minded mayor since Harold Washington, and he had to deal with the City Council that was determined to obstruct him every step of the way. At the moment, at least, the number of truly progressive aldermen (as opposed to aldermen who talk about being progressive but tend to vote with the mayor) can be counted with two hands (Fioretti himself, Ald Sawyer (6th), Ald Waguespack (32nd), Ald Sposato (36th), Ald Hairston (5th), Ald Arena (45th) and Ald Foulkes (15th)).
And even if Fioretti would have a majority of City Council on his side, the realities of balancing a budget have a way of making people readjust their goals and priorities.
I suppose this is premature. Fioretti hasn't even announced his candidacy.
But it sure sounds like he's thinking about it.
Bob Fioretti speaks to the City Club of Chicago at Maggiano's on Monday. | Richard A. Chapman/Chicago Sun-Times
As the Chicago Sun-Times coverage of the event put it, he "unveiled a liberal, pro-union agenda that would make newly-elected New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio proud." Or, to put it another way, it checked off pretty much every checkmark on the Progressives' wish list. He wanted to make Chicago Public Schools board elected rather than appointed, increase in minimum wage, mandate paid sick live, reopen four city mental health clinics closed by current mayor Rahm Emanuel back in 2012, hire 500 more police officers. He lambasted the way Emanuel administration handled last year's school closings.
Oh, and he also said he wanted to cut the Chicago City Council in the half - an idea he floated before, and something that I'm still not convinced is a good idea. As an alderman, he knows better than anyone just how much Chicago aldermen do to keep their wards running. Giving aldermen twice as many constituents is only going to make ward offices' jobs harder.
Fioretti doesn't want to raise property taxes to make up for pension shortfalls, nor does he want to increase employee contributions. So how does he propose to pay for it?
To solve Chicago’s $20 billion pension crisis, Fioretti favors a one percent commuter tax on 620,000 suburbanites who earn their paychecks in Chicago, a broadening of the sales tax to include services and a land-based casino that has been on the city’s wish list for 25 years.
There are already two people who are planning to run against Emanuel - community activist Amara Enyia and former alderman Robert Shaw. Enyia isn't well-known outside poor South and West Side neighborhoods, and Shaw has a history of dubious political dealings. Fioretti, on the other hand, spent the last two years making a name for himself as one of the Emanuel's most outspoken critics and one of the biggest reformers in the City Council. As I've written before, he was one of the aldermen who got screwed over during the 2012 ward revamp, with his ward getting moved from portions of Near South Side and Near West Side to a stretch through a seemingly random string of blocks across Chicago's Near North Side, Lincoln Park and West Town community areas.
In the interests of full disclosure, I should add that I got to talk to Fioretti quite a bit when I was writing for the Chicago Journal. He struck me as a decent man who worked hard to respond to his constituents' concerns. And he did try to make the best of the unfortunate situation the City Council Old Guard stuck him him. I think he would make a good candidate. I think he would certainly be able to gather sizable support. He has dealt with issues in poor neighborhoods likes East Garfield Park and more well-off neighborhoods like South Loop, so he potentially has broad appeal.
But would Fioretti make a good mayor?
It's one thing to say all the right things. It's quite another to actually get to the position of power and try to make it happen. Chicago hasn't had a reform-minded mayor since Harold Washington, and he had to deal with the City Council that was determined to obstruct him every step of the way. At the moment, at least, the number of truly progressive aldermen (as opposed to aldermen who talk about being progressive but tend to vote with the mayor) can be counted with two hands (Fioretti himself, Ald Sawyer (6th), Ald Waguespack (32nd), Ald Sposato (36th), Ald Hairston (5th), Ald Arena (45th) and Ald Foulkes (15th)).
And even if Fioretti would have a majority of City Council on his side, the realities of balancing a budget have a way of making people readjust their goals and priorities.
I suppose this is premature. Fioretti hasn't even announced his candidacy.
But it sure sounds like he's thinking about it.