By Mickey Ciokajlo
Tribune staff reporter
Published April 2, 2007, 10:25 AM CDT
The National Organization for Women’s Chicago chapter has again pulled its endorsement of 2nd Ward aldermanic candidate Bob Fioretti, saying he misled them regarding his relationship with a woman who filed an order of protection against him in 2003.

“We are extremely disappointed in Mr. Fioretti, and because we can no longer be confident about the accuracy and honesty of his statements, we are withdrawing our endorsement,” Mary Przekop, spokeswoman for the organization’s political action committee, said in a statement released this morning. Fioretti is challenging Ald. Madeline Haithcock in the April 17 runoff election.
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NOW’s move comes three days after a Chicago Tribune story showed that Fioretti’s explanation of his relationship with the woman conflicted with the public record.

Fioretti has said that the woman began harassing him after she saw him at work in courtrooms. Fioretti is a lawyer, and the woman is a court reporter.

But the Tribune story highlighted a court document that Fioretti filed seeking to have the protection order lifted. The document stated that he and the woman had had a past “dating relationship.”

His campaign later said Fioretti and the woman were friends who saw each other at social events over the years but declined to comment further, other than to say the court documents “speak for themselves.” Fioretti’s campaign did not have an immediate comment this morning.

In NOW’s statement, the group said it had relied on information provided by Fioretti in making its endorsement. Prior to the Tribune story, the group was not aware of the document noting the “dating relationship” between the two.

“Chicago NOW originally endorsed Mr. Fioretti based on the information he provided to us, but we now have discovered that he misled Chicago NOW regarding his relationship to the woman who filed the emergency order of protection,” Przekop said in the statement. “Mr. Fioretti has been less than forthcoming and after days of inquiries to his campaign we still do not know why.”

NOW originally endorsed Fioretti but pulled its endorsement just days before the February municipal election after learning of the order of protection that was obtained against Fioretti in August 2003.

Fioretti finished first in the six-candidate field with 28 percent of the vote, followed by Haithcock with 21 percent. Because neither won a majority, they will meet again in the runoff.

Shortly after the Feb. 27 election, Chicago NOW re-endorsed Fioretti, noting that a judge vacated the protection order and saying the allegations had no basis in fact. The group acknowledged that it had not interviewed the woman.

In the statement released Monday, Chicago NOW said it would endorse neither candidate in the 2nd Ward race.

“We want to use this unfortunate situation as an opportunity to encourage true women’s advocates to run for office in Chicago,” Przekop said. “After this bleak episode, we are more committed than ever to recruiting woman-friendly candidates for the next election