Talk:Fred Roti

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I'm going to put some more time in on this article. I intend to add references for each edit. I'm not interested in a war with anyone. For what it's worth, I am an Italian-American and a Chicagoan. Thanks! Hugh 20:21, 24 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Crime Fighting Logical inconsistency ?

What side of the law was he really on?

"Two other Roti accomplishments deserve mention. First, Alderman Roti lead the fight for Chicago's handgun ban in Chicago's City Council "

Why would fighting for a handgun ban, be not considered crime fighting, there is always long fire arms, that would be protected under the constitution,as well ?

--Caesar J. B. Squitti  : Son of Maryann Rosso and Arthur Natale Squitti 19:06, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Too much slant toward criminal activity ?

This person was a long time alderman, a senator, and it seems the information presented wants to present the view that he was a criminal first and foremost.

Its like saying 'you have broken the law', even as in a a speeding ticket therefore you are a criminal.

It is obvious by the fact that so many showed up to his funeral that he was very well respected !

Every paragraph has a reference to non-perfect people. If you were a poltiician in that time, you had to know these people one way or another ?

Anyway the balance on this article is too extreme.

--Caesar J. B. Squitti  : Son of Maryann Rosso and Arthur Natale Squitti 15:13, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

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The article states that Roti faced "nominal" Republican opposition when he was slated for the state senate in the April 1950 primary. In the book "Barbarians in Our Midst: A History of Chicago Crime and Politics" by Virgil W. Peterson, published by Little, Brown and Company in 1952, Peterson characterizes that race somewhat differently (the words in brackets are added for clarity, the rest comes directly from the original text):

"About eighty percent of the voters in the First District are Negro, and with the backing of Congressman [and First Ward boss William] Dawson, a Negro candidate should win handily. In the April 1950 primary, Dr. Edward A. Welters, a strong Negro candidate, entered the Democratic race for state senator with the understanding that he would have the support of Dawson.

"Dr. Welters, a successful toilet-preparations manufacturer, was highly popular among the Negro voters. A few years earlier he had been elected to the Illinois House of Representatives as a Republican and dramatically resigned from that party on the floor of the House in 1945 as a protest against Republican opposition to an antidiscrimination bill. This action enhanced his popularity among the Negro voters of the First District, and with Congressman Dawson’s support, Dr. Welters felt that his nomination was assured.

"He failed to take into consideration, however, the political strength of Ward Committeeman Pete Fosco and his friends. Fosco definitely had other plans. He issued an ultimatum that the coveted senate seat was to go to a virtually unknown young Italian, Fred B. Roti.

"In a signed statement to the Chicago Crime Commission, Dr. Welters charged that several weeks before the April 1950 primary he was visited by Congressman Dawson who offered him $10,000 to withdraw from the contest. When Welters turned down the offer, the amount was raised to $15,000. Welters still declined to withdraw and Dawson then informed him that he no longer considered himself obligated to support Welters’s candidacy.

"Many of the Negro leaders of the First District were infuriated. Letters containing Dr. Welter’s charges were sent to President Harry S. Truman, Governor Adalai Stevenson, Mayor Martin H. Kennelly and Cook County Democratic Chairman, Jacob M. Arvey. Congressman Dawson denied the allegations. But in a predominantly Negro district a strong Negro candidate was overwhelmingly defeated by an obscure Italian sales-tax investigator, Fred B. Roti, who had the support of Pete Fosco and company." —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sara Catania (talk • contribs) 00:01, 15 May 2008 (UTC)