His father, John Alden Fritchey III, was a United States Air Force Vietnam veteran and a native of Olney, Illinois, home to three generations of his family, while his mother emigrated from Oujda, Morocco.

[16][17] From the moment he entered the General Assembly in Springfield, he began pushing for serious, common sense reforms that brought the respect of good government and consumer's rights groups from all over the ideological spectrum.

[9] He was a champion of many issues, from ethics reform to consumer protection to health care to fairer taxes who consistently showed that he was not afraid to buck party leadership and stand up for his constituents and all of Illinois.

[5] He additionally helped pass legislation that strengthened environmental preservation laws, expanded protected wilderness areas, and increased investment in renewable energy.

These included: Fritchey was one of many candidates who ran for former US Representative Rahm Emanuel's seat in 2009 Illinois's 5th congressional district special election.

[29][30] In 2010, Fritchey left the Illinois General Assembly in order to run for a seat on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, formerly held by Forrest Claypool.

These included: Fritchey left the office upon the swearing-in of his successor, attorney and successful 2018 Democratic primary challenger Bridget Degnen.