Fioretti: 'I've Decided Not To Run For Mayor'
CHICAGO (CBS) - Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd) announced officially Tuesday that he will not run for mayor, after learning he has tonsil cancer.
At City Hall Tuesday, Fioretti told reporters the cancer was discovered two weeks ago after he underwent a tonsillectomy.
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"The good news is my doctors have a great prognosis," Fioretti said. "My doctors have prescribed a course of treatment that involves radiation and chemotherapy, and I'm putting myself in what I believe are some of the most capable hands in the medical world here in the city of Chicago. They are the finest doctors of the country."
Fioretti said he still plans to run for re-election for alderman. But not so for his mayoral bid.
When he underwent his surgery, Fioretti was poised to announce officially that he was running to succeed the retiring Mayor Richard M. Daley
But Fioretti said he has been considering "many factors, many items" in deciding whether to run, and the cancer diagnosis was one of them.
"I've decided not to run for mayor of the city of Chicago," he said.
Until the cancer diagnosis, Fioretti was planning to run for mayor on a platform of hiring 1,000 police officers to ease a severe manpower shortage. He also proposed that McCormick Place East be converted into a giant, but temporary casino and that Chicago begin the search for a permanent gambling site.
Fioretti also demanded that Daley begin the search for Chicago's next police superintendent immediately instead of waiting until March 1, when the $310,000-a-year contract of embattled Supt. Jody Weis expires.
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