John Fritchey
Encyclopedia
John Alden Fritchey, IV (born March 2, 1964) is an American attorney and politician. He is a Democratic
member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners
, representing the 12th District since 2010.
in Bossier City
, Louisiana
. His father John Alden Fritchey, III was a native of Olney
, Illinois
and a Vietnam veteran. His mother emigrated from Morocco
. After living in Olney, home to three generations of his father's family, and later in Belleville, Illinois
, John and his mother moved to Chicago
where he attended grammar school and high school at the The Latin School of Chicago
.
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.
from 1989 to 1991.
at age 32.
Fritchey was Chairman of the Consumer Protection Committee from 1999 to 2002. His efforts to rein in escalating ATM
fees received national attention. In order to combat identity theft
, Fritchey drafted and passed a law preventing retailers from printing full credit card
numbers on receipts. Fritchey sponsored legislation to protect computer users from spyware
.
Fritchey controls two state-registered political action committees, Friends of John Fritchey and Chicago PAC, and the federally-registered Fritchey for Us.
.
In the summer of 2003, long-time 32nd Ward committeeman and former 32nd Ward alderman Theris "Terri" Gabinski announced he was stepping down from the committeeman post. On the day of the filing deadline, December 15, 2003, Fritchey filed to run, but later withdrew, and Gabinski ran unopposed. Four years later, in 2007, Gabinski again announced his retirement from committeeman. On July 27, 2007 Fritchey again announced his candidacy. Fritchey challenged the nominating petitions of his only challenger, Roger Romanelli
, and Fritchey ran unopposed on February 5, 2008.
Rahm Emanuel
's seat in Illinois's 5th congressional district special election, 2009
. In the primary election on March 3, 2009. Fritchey finished second to Mike Quigley in the 12-way race for the Democratic Party nomination.
, formerly held by Forrest Claypool. Fritchey was endorsed by both Claypool as well as Congressman Mike Quigley. According to the Chicago Board of Elections, Fritchey won the election with 75 percent of the vote.
. Fritchey does zoning work before the Chicago City Council
's Committee on Zoning. Fritchey is a lobbyist registered with the City of Chicago.
In 2002 Fritchey represented hip hop record producer Rudy Acosta, president of Legion Records
, in a zoning change to permit the construction of "a 44-foot-high, approximately 7,000-square-foot structure festooned with turrets and battlements" in the residential neighborhood of Independence Park on Chicago's northwest side. The City of Chicago's Department of Zoning advised against the zoning change. Neighbors complained they never were told of the proposed zoning change despite a requirement they be notified by certified mail. Fritchey said the residents may not have read the notices: "...if they don't like the zoning change they shouldn't blame me because they didn't pay attention to the notice." Fritchey threatened the neighbors with a defamation lawsuit.
at Northwestern University
.
Fritchey's former father-in-law, Samuel V. P. Banks, was a criminal defense attorney with considerable influence in Chicago's 36th Ward on the Far Northwest Side until his death in 2010. A former Cook County prosecutor and Chicago police officer, Samuel Banks was called a powerful behind-the-scenes figure in his brother William's 36th Ward Democratic organization.
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners
Cook County Board of Commissioners
The Cook County Board of Commissioners is a legislative body made up of 17 commissioners who are elected by district for four year terms. Cook County, which includes the City of Chicago, is the nation's second largest county with a population of 5.2 million residents...
, representing the 12th District since 2010.
Early life
John Fritchey was born at Barksdale Air Force BaseBarksdale Air Force Base
Barksdale Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately east-southeast of Bossier City, Louisiana.The host unit at Barksdale is the 2d Bomb Wing , the oldest Bomb Wing in the Air Force. It is assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command's Eighth Air Force...
in Bossier City
Bossier City, Louisiana
Bossier City is a city in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, United States.As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of 61,315. Bossier City is closely tied to its larger sister city Shreveport, located on the western bank of the Red River. The Shreveport-Bossier City metropolitan area is the...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. His father John Alden Fritchey, III was a native of Olney
Olney, Illinois
Olney is a city in Richland County, Illinois, United States. The population was 8,631 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Richland County.-History:...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and a Vietnam veteran. His mother emigrated from Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. After living in Olney, home to three generations of his father's family, and later in Belleville, Illinois
Belleville, Illinois
Belleville is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city has a population of 44,478. It is the eighth-most populated city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area and the most populated city south of Springfield in the state of Illinois. It is the county...
, John and his mother moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
where he attended grammar school and high school at the The Latin School of Chicago
The Latin School of Chicago
The Latin School of Chicago is a private elementary, middle and high school in the Gold Coast neighborhood in Chicago. The school was founded in 1888 by Mabel Slade Vickery.- History :...
.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
in 1986 from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. Fritchey returned home to earn his law degree from Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in 1989.
Career
After graduating from law school, Fritchey worked as an Illinois Assistant Attorney GeneralIllinois Attorney General
The Illinois Attorney General is the highest legal officer of the state of Illinois in the United States. Originally an appointed office, it is now an office filled by election through universal suffrage...
from 1989 to 1991.
State Representative
In 1996, four years after marrying Karen Banks, the niece of 36th ward Chicago Alderman and ward committeeman William Banks, Fritchey was elected to the Illinois House of RepresentativesIllinois House of Representatives
The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The state House of Representatives is made of 118 representatives elected from...
at age 32.
Fritchey was Chairman of the Consumer Protection Committee from 1999 to 2002. His efforts to rein in escalating ATM
Automated teller machine
An automated teller machine or automatic teller machine, also known as a Cashpoint , cash machine or sometimes a hole in the wall in British English, is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public...
fees received national attention. In order to combat identity theft
Identity theft
Identity theft is a form of stealing another person's identity in which someone pretends to be someone else by assuming that person's identity, typically in order to access resources or obtain credit and other benefits in that person's name...
, Fritchey drafted and passed a law preventing retailers from printing full credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
numbers on receipts. Fritchey sponsored legislation to protect computer users from spyware
Spyware
Spyware is a type of malware that can be installed on computers, and which collects small pieces of information about users without their knowledge. The presence of spyware is typically hidden from the user, and can be difficult to detect. Typically, spyware is secretly installed on the user's...
.
Fritchey controls two state-registered political action committees, Friends of John Fritchey and Chicago PAC, and the federally-registered Fritchey for Us.
Chicago Ward committeeman
Fritchey is the Democratic Party committeeman from the 32nd Ward of Chicago, an unpaid party position within the Cook County Democratic OrganizationCook County Democratic Organization
The Cook County Democratic Organization is one of the most powerful political machines in American history. Historically called the "Chicago Democratic machine", or simply the "Chicago Machine", the organization has dominated Chicago politics since the 1930s...
.
In the summer of 2003, long-time 32nd Ward committeeman and former 32nd Ward alderman Theris "Terri" Gabinski announced he was stepping down from the committeeman post. On the day of the filing deadline, December 15, 2003, Fritchey filed to run, but later withdrew, and Gabinski ran unopposed. Four years later, in 2007, Gabinski again announced his retirement from committeeman. On July 27, 2007 Fritchey again announced his candidacy. Fritchey challenged the nominating petitions of his only challenger, Roger Romanelli
Roger Romanelli
Roger Romanelli is a community activist in Chicago. He is the Executive Director of the Randolph-Fulton Market Association.Romanelli was the industrial business manager of the Industrial Council of Near West Chicago from 1998 to 1999...
, and Fritchey ran unopposed on February 5, 2008.
Attempt at US House of Representatives
Fritchey was one of many candidates who ran for former US RepresentativeUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Israel Emanuel is an American politician and the 55th and current Mayor of Chicago. He was formerly White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama...
's seat in Illinois's 5th congressional district special election, 2009
Illinois's 5th congressional district special election, 2009
A special election was held in Illinois's 5th congressional district in 2009 to fill the seat vacated by Rahm Emanuel. On April 7, Democratic nominee Michael Quigley defeated Republican nominee Rosanna Pulido and Green nominee Matt Reichel...
. In the primary election on March 3, 2009. Fritchey finished second to Mike Quigley in the 12-way race for the Democratic Party nomination.
Cook County Commissioner
Fritchey declined to run for re-election to the Illinois House in 2010, instead running for a seat on the Cook County Board of CommissionersCook County Board of Commissioners
The Cook County Board of Commissioners is a legislative body made up of 17 commissioners who are elected by district for four year terms. Cook County, which includes the City of Chicago, is the nation's second largest county with a population of 5.2 million residents...
, formerly held by Forrest Claypool. Fritchey was endorsed by both Claypool as well as Congressman Mike Quigley. According to the Chicago Board of Elections, Fritchey won the election with 75 percent of the vote.
Zoning attorney
In addition to being a part-time state legislator, Fritchey is an attorney in private practice. with a specialty in the area of zoningZoning
Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...
. Fritchey does zoning work before the Chicago City Council
Chicago City Council
The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 aldermen elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms...
's Committee on Zoning. Fritchey is a lobbyist registered with the City of Chicago.
In 2002 Fritchey represented hip hop record producer Rudy Acosta, president of Legion Records
Legion Records
Legion Records was started in 1997 by Michael Brosnan under the name Goatboy Records then changed to Goatboy Farms Recordings. It was centered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The final name change occurred in 1999 for, publicly, unknown reasons...
, in a zoning change to permit the construction of "a 44-foot-high, approximately 7,000-square-foot structure festooned with turrets and battlements" in the residential neighborhood of Independence Park on Chicago's northwest side. The City of Chicago's Department of Zoning advised against the zoning change. Neighbors complained they never were told of the proposed zoning change despite a requirement they be notified by certified mail. Fritchey said the residents may not have read the notices: "...if they don't like the zoning change they shouldn't blame me because they didn't pay attention to the notice." Fritchey threatened the neighbors with a defamation lawsuit.
Adjunct professor
Fritchey has taught as an adjunct professor in political sciencePolitical science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
.
Personal life
John Fritchey married Karen Banks in 1992. They have a daughter. John and Karen separated in October 2009 and are arranging for a divorce.Fritchey's former father-in-law, Samuel V. P. Banks, was a criminal defense attorney with considerable influence in Chicago's 36th Ward on the Far Northwest Side until his death in 2010. A former Cook County prosecutor and Chicago police officer, Samuel Banks was called a powerful behind-the-scenes figure in his brother William's 36th Ward Democratic organization.
External links
- Official website
- Blog about John Fritchey (not updated since 2009)