Following a hotly contested Democratic primary campaign for Cook County state’s attorney that took 10 days to resolve because it was so close, the general election race this fall to replace Kim Foxx as county prosecutor has been relatively sleepy.
But it still has intrigue and ironies.
The Democratic nominee, Eileen O’Neill Burke , prevailed in the primary while pushing back against claims she’s a de facto Republican, while the Republican nominee, Bob Fioretti, was until recently a longtime Democrat who is being backed in the general election by progressive icon the Rev. Jesse Jackson. And after running a robust campaign to defeat the Cook County Democratic Party’s favored candidate in March, O’Neill Burke has made a concerted effort since to largely lay low while Fioretti is trying — and mostly failing — to raise enough money to make the race competitive.
With less than a week to go before the Nov. 5 election, the top Cook County race that voters will see on their ballots has not generated mass mailings, broadcast commercials or even a public debate.