But state Rep. John Fritchey (D-Chicago) seeks to leave Springfield for a seat on the Cook County Board.
It may seem like a step in the wrong direction for Fritchey, who lost to former Commissioner Mike Quigley in the race for Rahm Emmanuel’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. But he says he is motivated by the potential to work for the citizens of Cook County.
“I appreciate it’s difficult for people to believe this statement, but going to the county board is about doing more for the public,” he says.
Fritchey is battling former 32nd Ward Alderman Ted Matlak for the seat being vacated by Commissioner Forrest Claypool.
If Fritchey wins, he’ll face a laundry list of problems that progressive candidates like Claypool and Quigley were unable to solve.
They include an ailing health care system, an unpopular sales tax and a government that’s seen as lumbering and inefficient.
But Fritchey, who says his career in public service is his way of repaying a debt to society for helping him earn scholarships to the University of Michigan and Northwestern University School of Law, welcomes those challenges. He says he can use his legislative experience to better the county board.
“I’m going there to continue to fight and make a difference. If I didn’t feel there were battles to be won at the county board, I would be more than content to stay where I was,” he says.
Fritchey says he sees an opportunity to make the county board a more forceful body in terms of creating and enacting legislation, especially as commissioners have revolted against Cook County Board President Todd Stroger.
“Cook County government tends to be more of an administrative mindset,” he says. “I think there is an opportunity to take the policy-making dynamic of the Illinois Legislature and bring that to Cook County government.”
Quigley agrees, and says adding Fritchey to the board would be “a bit of a shock to the system.”
“Before, the board acted like the autocracy of county government was OK, and they sort of just signed off on what the president wanted. They didn’t look at policy,” says Quigley, who along with Claypool, endorsed Fritchey when he announced his candidacy in September.
“The county has a series of fiefdoms,” Quigley says. “Legislators need to look at government as a whole, and have one government, not just clerk, sheriff, assessor.”
In short, Quigley and Fritchey see an opportunity to reinvent the county’s governmental structure to have a greater impact on residents.
He’s already worked from Springfield to reduce the veto threshold and helping to close a loophole for pension double-dippers.
But Fritchey’s effort to position himself as a reformer doesn’t sit well with Matlak. He notes that Fritchey is the 32nd Ward committeeman.
“It’s interesting that a ward boss calls himself a reformer,” says Matlak, a former alderman who was ousted by Scott Waguespack in 2007.
Matlak says he is running because he’s disappointed in the performance of government officials.
Fritchey is not completely free of ties to Chicago Democrats, having won his seat in part due to deals made between powerful Democrats.
Fritchey, a zoning lawyer, bristles when the topic of his wife’s father and uncle — Samuel V.P. Banks and former Alderman William J.P. Banks — comes up.
The two have long held influence in the city’s zoning decisions. William Banks, who chaired the zoning committee, recused himself from votes involving Fritchey.
“I have been for years a victim of guilt by association,” Fritchey says, adding that there has been no misconduct on his part.
Matlak says Fritchey has paid too much attention to running for office and not enough to working in Springfield on behalf of his district.
“He has spent every day of this term running for office,” Matlak complains. “That’s fine if he doesn’t want to be state representative, but he’s been collecting a paycheck this whole time.”
Fritchey disputes that, and reiterates a record of working for reform. He was one of the first legislators to speak in favor of impeaching former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. In 2006, he introduced legislation to reduce the number of votes needed to override a Cook County presidential veto. Gov. Pat Quinn signed a law requiring just 11 of 17 to overturn a veto late last year, paving the way for commissioners to reduce the county’s sales tax.
“You put my record up over 14 years — there is no one who can compare to my legislative record,” Fritchey says.
It’s that sentiment that has earned him the backing of Quigley and Claypool.
“He’s shown independence in the Legislature. He’s taken on the reform mantle on a number of fronts,” Claypool says. “I think he’ll be in the independent tradition of those of us who came on to the board in 2002.”
Fritchey is confident he’ll win.
Last week he tweeted from the statehouse: “Just realized that this will be the last State of the State address that I attend as a member. Kind of bummed by that idea.”
This article appeared in the January 2010 edition of the Chicago Current. For home delivery, subscribe now
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