Fioretti Losing Voice, Will Delay Mayoral Bid
CHICAGO (STMW) - It's not often that a Chicago politician loses his voice while tuning up to run for mayor. But that's literally what's about to happen to Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd).
Fioretti is having his tonsils out next week, forcing him to delay his formal entry into the crowded race to succeed Mayor Richard M. Daley.
"It's just an inflammation of one tonsil and they said, 'We had better take it out now — especially as we're gonna be campaigning and going out, door-to-door throughout the city. . . . Both of my doctors said, 'Take it out now when you have a chance and before it gets too late in the campaign,' " Fioretti said Tuesday.
The surgery is scheduled for Wednesday, followed by a five-day recovery period. During that time, the alderman who has a knack for getting under Daley's skin will be forced to keep his mouth shut when he's not downing large quantities of liquids.
"Some people in City Hall may think it's good. The people may not. But some people may think it's very good — probably on five especially," Fioretti said, referring to Daley's office on the fifth-floor of City Hall.
Before losing his voice, Fioretti fired off a letter to the lame-duck mayor requesting actual figures for all revenue collected and expenditures made during the first nine months of this year.
He noted that aldermen routinely receive only projections for the current year, putting them behind the eight-ball when it comes to evaluating the mayor's budget for the following year.
"Ambiguous figures force aldermen to guess if the mayor's projections are overly-conservative or wildly- optimistic," Fioretti said in a press released.
"The lack of clarity also causes doubt about the possible politicizing of the budget presentation. . . . Are the projections fashioned in a way to assure passage of the budget even though they might not present a realistic picture of the city's economic health?"
Tonsillectomies can be relatively simple for kids, but complicated for adults.
Is Fioretti sorry that he didn't have his tonsils removed as a child like so many other middle-aged Americans?
"I would have had a lot of ice cream then. Now, it's gonna be a lot of chicken soup," he said.
-- Chicago Sun-Times, via the Sun-Times Media Wire
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2010. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
