Chicago City Wire

Cook County State’s Attorney Republican candidate Bob Fioretti congratulates Democrat candidate Eileen O’Niell Burke on her success in the primary. The two candidates will both be on the general election ballot. 

“I want to congratulate Eileen O’Niell Burke on a razor thin win in her primary race,” Fioretti said in a post on X. “We need a State’s Attorney who will stand with law enforcement, rather than coddle violent criminals. The choice in November is clear: chaos and bedlam, or law and order.  I will end the cycle of violence and corruption that have plagued our country for too long.”

O'Neill Burke defeated primary opponent Clayton Harris by a margin of .02%, or roughly 2000 votes. She faces Republican Bob Fioretti and Libertarian Andrew Charles Kopinski in the general election on Nov. 5. 

O'Neill Burke grew up on Chicago's Northwest Side. She graduated from St. Mary of the Woods Grade School, Marillac High School, the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana and Chicago-Kent College of Law.

She spent her first ten years as a lawyer working as a Cook County Assistant State's Attorney (1991-2001), then worked for seven years as a criminal defense attorney in Cook County (2001-2008) before winning election as a Cook County Circuit Court Judge (2008-16) and then the Illinois Appellate Court, where she served on the First District bench until stepping down to run for State's Attorney last year.

Bob Fioretti was born in Chicago. He attended Mendel High School, University of Illinois, and  Northern Illinois University. 

Fioretti has served as a Chicago City Council alderman for Ward 2, and as the Senior Supervising Attorney of the General Litigation Division for the Corporation Counsel as part of Chicago Mayor Harold Washington’s administration. He also worked in private practice. 

Fioretti advanced from the Republican primary on March 19 as the sole candidate.