John Fritchey is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 11th District since 1996. On January 6th, 2008, Representative Fritchey announced that he would enter the special election for the U.S. House of Representatives seat in the Illinois 5th District.
On the issues
Biography
Early Life
John Fritchey was born on March 2, 1964 at Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, Louisiana. After living briefly in Olney, Illinois, home to three generations of his family, and later in Belleville, John moved to Chicago with his mother where he attended grammar school and high school at the The Latin School of Chicago. His mother divorced her husband, and remarried Sidney Swibel, brother of the real-estate tycoon and Chairman of the Chicago Housing Authority, Charles Swibel. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics in 1986 from the University of Michigan. Fritchey returned home to earn his law degree from Northwestern University in 1989. Fritchey then worked as an Illinois Assistant Attorney General from 1989-1991.
State Representative
Fritchey was first elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1996, when he was only 32. During his campaign he had support from both local elected officials as well as broad grassroots support, which led some political publications to call him the “new face of Chicago Democrats.” Fritchey continued to gain prominence when he was named “100 Rising Stars to Watch” in the nation by the Democratic Leadership Council in both 2000 and 2003.
John has fought for government ethics legislation, consumer protection and education funding. In 2001, Fritchey's efforts led to his being named Democratic Leader of the Year by the Illinois State Crime Commission.
Since first being elected, Fritchey has focused on ethics and campaign finance. In 2002, Fritchey helped pass the first significant campaign reform law in Illinois in years, outlawing the practice of campaign fundraising by state inspectors. In 2003, his work with State Senator Barack Obama resulted in the passage of the most comprehensive ethics bill ever passed in the state.
When Illinois was awarded $9.1 billion in the national lawsuit against cigarette manufacturers, House leadership named Fritchey to be Co-Chairman of the Tobacco Settlement Proceeds Committee. In this role, John sponsored legislation to combine major healthcare initiatives with long-term savings and investment.
Fritchey was Chairman of the Consumer Protection Committee from 1999-2002. His efforts to rein in escalating ATM fees received national praise and attention.[citation needed] In order to combat identity theft, John drafted and passed a law preventing retailers from printing full credit card numbers on receipts. This past session, Fritchey passed legislation out of the House to protect computer users from spyware.
In 2003, Fritchey was selected to be Chairman of the House Civil Judiciary Committee. After Illinois Democrats took over all levels of state government and could still not agree on legislation, Fritchey commented, "It's gotten to the point with party infighting and clan rivalries that we're making the Iraqi parliament look good."[1]
In addition to his legislative work, Fritchey has taught as an adjunct professor in Political Science at Northwestern University. He has also created the John Fritchey Youth Foundation, designed to create educational and recreational opportunities for local children through academic and athletic programs.
Personal Life
In 1992 he married Karen Banks, who happens to be the daughter of Sam Banks, one of the city's top zoning lawyers, and the niece of 36th Ward alderman William Banks, chairman of the council's zoning committee. They have one daughter.
Rep. Fritchey is a Roman Catholic.
Endorsed by:
AFL-CIO, AFSCME, Illinois Federation of Teachers
What the papers say:
What the bloggers say:
Progress Illinois (2/6/09)
He's the only lobbyist in the running and his roster of clients over the past eight years should raise some eyebrows in the labor community....Fritchey was registered as a lobbyist for Bank of America in November 2006. This is the same bank that the Republic Windows workers had to fight tooth-and-nail for the pay they were owed. It's also the same financial institution that took $25 billion in federal bailout funds and then held a conference call with conservative activists to coordinate opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act. Cash America International -- a pawn shop and payday loan operator -- has been a Fritchey client from November 2006 through his last filing in December 2008.
Jesse Greenberg (2/6/09)
John Fritchey is not the most “labor-friendly” candidate in the race.
References
[edit]External links
Comments (1)
Rob said
at 2:32 am on Feb 26, 2009
Both Unions have become nice conservative bastions of the middle of the road, politics as usual. Great endorsement!
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