Rockford's Tuffy Quinonez 'fought for what he believed in'
Rockford this week lost a fierce advocate for the Broadway business district who believed the city's 11th Ward could one day rise again as an economic powerhouse.
Ald. Theophelo "Tuffy" Quinonez, a second-term Democrat, died Monday, days after suffering a severe stroke. He was 76.
Colleagues will remember Quinonez for his trademark greeting of "everything's good," never quite sure if it was a question or statement. They will also remember his unwavering support for small business and the hospitality industry, commitment to serving his constituents, ability to return a favor and quiet political savvy.
But his daughter, Martine Guerrero, his only child, will remember him as a loving dad and grandfather of two boys who was proud to represent his ward and his city.
"He was a great person, a very intelligent person," Guerrero said. "He fought for what he believed in. He was a wonderful father and grandfather."
Visitation is planned from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at Fitzgerald Funeral Home & Crematory — Mulford Chapel,1860 S. Mulford Road. Funeral mass is planned at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Bridget Catholic Church,600 Clifford Ave. in Loves Park.
Decades of service
Quinonez was in 1972 the first Latino American to be elected to the Winnebago County Board, lost a subsequent election and was appointed to another term in 1978. He was a retired barber shop owner who was born in Chicago, but raised in Rockford since the age of 5, graduating from West High School.
Quinonez volunteered to enlist in the U.S. Army in the 1960s, following in the footsteps of his father, Ted Quinonez, who is one of the regions few remaining living World War II veterans, said Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5149 Commander Nancy Clark.
Quinonez was an active member of the VFW for decades. He volunteered to manage the cantina, help run various events and to support veterans, Clark said.
As alderman, Tuffy worked with Clark and city officials to secure handicapped parking spaces in front of the VFW at 922 7th Street. And Clark said he used his share of ward funding to pay for street and sidewalk repairs in front of the homes and apartments of senior citizens living in his ward.
"Here we are, a Veterans of Foreign Wars and I have a lot of crippled vets because of their war injuries. I said Tuffy, 'why can’t we get these handicap spaces?'" Clark said. "Within no time at all, he had the stuff installed."
Never east of Alpine
Ald. Mark Bonne, D-14, often met with Quinonez outside of City Council to discuss various issues and problems that needed solving. But Bonne said Quinonez refused to visit the 14th Ward saying he would not venture east of Alpine Road, preferring to support the restaurants and bars in and around his own ward.
They compromised by meeting at the American Legion on the west side of Alpine Road.
Bonne said although Quinonez had reached 76 years old, he had never slowed down. He was constantly meeting with constituents, officials at City Hall and his colleagues on City Council. Quinonez was "one of those people who lived life to the fullest," Bonne said.
Quinonez was a politician who didn't shy away from politics, reveling in the chance to be the man his constituents turned to when they needed something from the city, Bonne said.
He conducted old-fashioned, shoe-leather campaigns in a ward known for low voter turnout. Quinonez would work the phones and do what it took to win, even if that meant driving his voters to the polls and giving them a ride home afterward.
"He really thought of himself as a champion for the little guy and he was," Bonne said. "He understood that some people have voices that aren’t heard as much as others. He really took a lot of pleasure in helping people navigate the bureaucracy of government."
Death of a friend
Winnebago County Board Chairman Joe Chiarelli said that when Quinonez died, he lost a former colleague on City Council and a close friend. Chiarelli said he formed an immediate bond with Quinonez when Quinonez was elected to his first term in 2017, defeating incumbent Karen Elyea who remained friends with Quinonez after the election.
Chiarelli said the Broadway district was always close to Quinonez's heart. Last year, Chiarelli joined Quinonez for a Broadway area parade, a festival and even a Christmas Eve party at the El Barrio Community Center, 1516 Broadway.
"My daughter was visiting from out of town and she says 'Dad, what are we going to do tonight?' I said 'Well, we could go to a community center,' and she wanted to go," Chiarelli said. "It was me, Tuffy, my daughter, friends and so we spent Christmas Eve together."
Quinonez would call Chiarelli by his last name so often that Chiarelli joked that he wondered whether Quinonez knew his first name.
"He would always phone me and say, 'It's all good Chiarelli' or 'Chiarelli, everything's good,'" Chiarelli said. "Then I was like, 'OK, what’s the issue, Tuffy? What are we facing? What do we need?' He loved being an alderman. He loved being a county board member. It was his life."
Jeff Kolkey can be reached at (815) 987-1374, via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on Twitter @jeffkolkey.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Remembering Rockford's Tuffy Quinonez, a trailblazer and veteran
