Ed Burke sentenced to 2 years in prison on corruption charges

The final chapter of Ed Burke’s spectacular downfall from the heights of power in Chicago ended Monday with a two-year prison sentence and a $2 million fine for his conviction on racketeering, bribery and attempted extortion charges.

Former Ald. Burke — who sat on City Council for over five decades, chaired its all-important Finance Committee, had a heavy hand in who could run for Cook County judge, ran a lucrative law practice on the side — going to prison? Plenty of people who know this city’s history likely never thought that would happen.

But it has, and it’s another welcome blow to the old ‘Chicago way’ of backroom deals at the expense of honest government. Burke should be required to serve every single day of that two-year prison term.

Read the full editorial.

After Burke on Monday was handed the two-year sentence that may spare him from dying behind bars, the prevailing emotion among his present and former colleagues was relief.

Most said U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall had found the appropriate balance between discouraging the political corruption undermining voter confidence and the mercy Burke earned from his many acts of kindness.

“Given Alderman Burke’s age and health issues, the $2 million fine plus two years in prison and then supervised release after that sends a clear signal, as Judge Kendall noted, that pay-to-play politics can’t be tolerated,” said Ald. Matt Martin (47th), chair of the Council’s Ethics Committee.

Read more.

Burke probably couldn’t help himself. Half a century of power and habit, he just expected anyone who wanted to make something happen with the city to throw business his way, too. His interests and the city’s were one. He didn’t need the money, didn’t need to buy more expensive suits. Quality like that doesn’t wear out or go out of style. It was just Monopoly money at that point, another marker of success, like a Brioni label.

That has to be the most galling thing. He was already rich. He sent himself to prison out of habit. For pressing too hard into a federal wiretap for more business he didn’t need. There’s a lesson in there somewhere: Know when you have enough. I might buy my suits at Suits 20/20, but I don’t have to extort money from anybody to pay for them.

Read Steinberg’s full column.

Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot clashed with Ald. Ed Burke during her four years as a mayor, and in a statement she said Burke “should be grateful that his sentence wasn’t longer--it certainly could have been justifiably so.”

Lightfoot campaigned on a message of reforming the corruption entrenched in City Hall, and was buoyed to office in the wake of the FBI’s raid on Burke’s offices. Lightfoot said Monday Burke’s abuse of power and monetization of his public office “caused real harm to people and communities.”

“As residents and taxpayers of Chicago, let us hope that this sentence sends a strong message to other elected officials that corruption and graft on the backs of Chicagoans comes with consequences--even for those who may seem omnipotent,” Lightfoot said.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson isn’t commenting further on Ald. Ed Burke’s 2-year prison sentence and $2 million fine handed down for the alderman’s 13-count conviction for racketeering, bribery and attempted extortion.

A spokesman for the mayor’s office said Johnson’s December statement when the verdict was issued still stands.

At the time, Johnson said: “Elected officials are responsible for serving with honesty and integrity, with a moral responsibility to their constituents to uphold and abide by the law. In the case that they fail to do so, it is imperative that they are held accountable. That is what the jury decided today.”

Former Ald. Ed Burke exited the courthouse Monday afternoon walking arm in arm with his wife.

Burke showed little emotion as he quickly made his way to a black SUV parked outside. Despite being chased by media crews, Burke did not give any comment.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Former Chicago Ald. Dick Simpson said the 2-year prison sentence and $2 million fine for Ald. Edward Burke sends a message “that corruption has a heavy price to it.”

“You have to remember that Burke is now over 80 years old, and not in the greatest of health. So this will be a trying experience for him and a warning to anybody else,” said Simpson, who served on the council with Burke, representing the 44th Ward in the 1970s. He is a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Burke’s influence amassed over the course of five decades gave him the unrivaled position as the most powerful and longest-serving Chicago alderperson. But his 13-count conviction meant Burke joined the ranks of convicted City Council members, making him the 40th alderperson to be convicted of federal corruption since 1976, Simpson said.

Burke famously said there are only three ways to leave office: “the ballot box, the jury box or the pine box.” The corruption charge will undercut the legacy Burke built and leave him with little power when he emerges from prison, Simpson said.

“Burke was a pretty good historian of Chicago politics and Chicago history. He wrote two books with some co-authors, and he knows about what legacy is like. And this conviction completely erases his role as a major force in Chicago history in the way he would like to have had it remembered,” Simpson said.

Whether Burke’s conviction and sentence will have a lasting dent on the corruption that has long run rampant at City Hall remains to be seen.

“It’s important that we begin to see fewer cases of corruption get tried and exposed and committed,” Simpson said. “Corruption is still a temptation. And there’s going to have to be a lot done in City Hall.”

David Greising, president of The Better Government Association, a nonprofit that advocates for transparency and ethics reforms, said the 2-year prison sentence and $2 million fine handed down to former longtime Ald. Ed Burke “calls into question the principle of equality before the law.”

Federal prosecutors had sought a 10-year prison sentence, but the court received 200 letters from supporters – including from high-profile attorneys, government officials and more – pleading for leniency. Many of the letters underscored the charity Burke had provided over the decades and noted the 80-year-old’s age.

“Judge Kendall herself said she was influenced by this. But to those who believe in accountable government, it was a disappointing spectacle, putting personal allegiance ahead of the public interest, and should have had little weight on imposing a just sentence,” Greising said in a statement.

Burke was City Council’s longest-serving alderman at 54 years, and Greising said the “light” sentence “indicates the vestiges of that power persist.” Greising urged the City Council to move forward on several stalled ethics reforms to show their commitment “that abuses of power like Ed Burke’s will no longer be tolerated in their body.”

Court is adjourned. Ed Burke is hugging his attorneys and members of his family. They’re smiling.

Former Chicago Ald. Edward M. Burke has been sentenced to two years in prison and a $2M fine for racketeering, bribery and attempted extortion.

Judge Virginia Kendall gave great consideration to the letters of support written on Burke’s behalf.

But she also sent a message about ex-Ald. Danny Solis, who is not expected to even see a conviction. She called that an “uncomfortable” fact when talking about corruption.

Burke held a straight face as the sentence was read. Burke’s wife, Anne Burke, held her head in her hands as she cried.

Ed Burke must surrender Sept. 23.

U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall is ruling in the sentencing of former Chicago Ald. Edward M. Burke. She has to discuss the factors she’s taking into consideration.

Kendall is discussing the rule of law and the promise of democracy. She talks about people losing faith in government but says she has no basis to conclude Burke has been corrupt his whole life.

“I have never in all my career seen the letters I have received for Mr. Burke. I have never received the testimonials that I have received.”

Burke is looking forward toward the judge. Anne Burke is sitting behind him, holding hands with her children.

Kendall is still going through anecdotes from the letters. “These are very personal acts that are not anything to do with authority or public office.”

She says she set aside letters from “former U.S. attorneys or judges.” “There’s many that are just people … just people you’re kind to,” she tells Burke.

The judge is discussing Ed and Anne Burke’s adoption of children, particularly Travis.

“These are very altruistic acts,” she said.

Kendall says she must sort out the portrait of Burke in the letters and the evidence in the trial. “I don’t think that it is appropriate to say that the activity in 2016 to 2018 wipes out all of this.”

“I have this window right in front of me. I have two years, four instances, and 50 years of this,” Kendall said. “And I need to make the correct decision.”

“I don’t think there’s a need for specific deterrence here,” Kendall said. She’s saying she doesn’t expect Burke to go out and commit more crimes.

“I don’t know how to impress upon those who serve the public that what they are sacrificing might not simply be their own lives” or freedom, “they’re a part of this erosion. Part of this chipping away at our democracy.”

Kendall says the statistic from Burke’s defense team about average racketeering sentences was “very helpful.”

She tells prosecutors she is bothered that Danny Solis “will get absolutely no time at all for his criminal activity.”

Now, Kendall is starting to talk about “fines that are much higher than normal.”

Ed Burke is standing to speak.

“The blame for this is mine and mine alone. I regret the pain and the sorrow that I have caused my family and my dear friends,” he says.

As he spoke, his wife Anne bowed her head and held her hand over her face.

During the hearing, Burke attorney Charles Sklarsky shared a text that he says came from “Chris Kennedy” the day of the verdict in December. It said, “Ed, in our society, is so unique that it would be nearly impossible to identify a peer.”

He questioned whether a long sentence would send a message to other public officials.

“We hear it in every case. And yet, there are still more cases. So there’s got to be something that’s not right about that. It’s not working.”

Sklarsky says deterrence is more likely to come when City Council members think their phones might be recorded, or their colleagues might be wired up.

“That sends a message,” he said.

Sklarsky argues that a sentence within the range determined by the judge would be an “unwarranted sentencing disparity.”

Federal Bureau of Prison statistics show an average sentence of 27 months for defendants convicted of Burke’s crimes, he said.

A sentence in that range, especially up to eight years, “could be a death sentence for Ed Burke,” Sklarsky said.

Sklarsky tells Judge Kendall to “do what you think is right” and shut out media coverage of her sentence. He points to the press and says “whatever you do, someone in the media is gonna second-guess you. They’re going to say ‘oh she’s too soft,’ or ‘she’s too hard.’”

Sklarsky says Burke told him after the verdict that “I’m in God’s hands.” But Sklarsky tells Judge Kendall “he’s the man of faith, not me.” “What I do know is that in this city, in this building, on this day, in this courtroom, he’s in your hands.”

Charles Sklarsky is resuming his argument on behalf of ex-Chicago Ald. Edward M. Burke.

Sklarsky is recounting for the judge anecdotes from his letters of support, describing how he paid funeral expenses — including for a fallen soldier — and tuition for “numerous students.”

“Ed created scholarships for people … he assisted numerous schools with fundraising,” Sklarsky said.

“If Ed were to be treated the same as someone who never did anything charitable or never engaged in a good deed,” then the federal sentencing laws “wouldn’t make any sense.”

Sklarsky cites the letter from former Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy — “he’s a cop’s cop.”

“He said he could never imagine writing a letter for any defendant convicted of a crime, but he has done so freely and willingly for Ed Burke.”

“These character letters cover decades of Ed’s life,” Sklarsky said. But “emblematic of it is, even now, when Ed Burke has so much more on his mind about his own future and his own life,” he has continued to show “goodness and grace.”

“Now, I supposed the cynical people would say, ‘You know, this is what politicians do. They do favors for people.’”

“Well, in my lifetime of observing politicians, this isn’t what most politicians do. They don’t have a record like Ed Burke has,” Sklarsky said.

Sklarsky calls Burke a “priest without a collar” because he’s “priestly in nature.”

“Political power. Ed has used his political power for good, for the city and for all the people who live here. Some of these things most people probably don’t know about.”

He cites no smoking in public places, raising the age to buy cigarettes and lower museum admission prices as examples.

Sklarsky points out that the letter writers included James Montgomery, former corporation counsel under Mayor Harold Washington.

“The government would say, and they have said, that you shouldn’t credit any of this. You should just look at the offense of conviction.”

But Sklarsky says that’s not how sentencing works.

“There’s a lot more to Ed Burke than what’s on those tapes.”

Sklarsky, who played a role in Operation Greylord when he was a federal prosecutor, says “any abuse of public office is serious.” But, “I’m not going to tell you where this offense conduct fits in with the long history …we have in this district of official misconduct.”

“Ed Burke doesn’t really have any peers in this city when it comes to acts of kindness and generosity and compassion. For love of church and family and doing good for the people of Chicago.”

Judge Kendall has called a 15-minute break.

Now Burke attorney Chuck Sklarsky is speaking.

“I am going to talk to you about the good things that he has done for the city and for all the people who live here,” he says.

Sklarsky quotes the feds, who referred to people writing in support of Burke as “misguided friends and well wishers.

“Let’s take a look at who are these misguided friends and well wishers.” He references judges, public officials and priests. “They all ask for compassion.”

Sklarsky says people began reaching out to him to try to help Burke all the way back in 2018, when the FBI first raided Burke’s offices.

“I must say I have never, never … seen an outpouring of support for a defendant like we have seen in this case.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker is now arguing for a 97-month sentence. “At the pinnacle of power in city government,” Streicker says, Burke “abused his power and exploited his office for private gain again and again and again and again and again over a period of years.”

Streicker says Burke has “not taken a single step to accept any responsibility.”

Streicker says Burke’s sentence should send a message that public officials like Burke “will face stiff consequences.”

Burke had been sitting back in his chair as Streicker began. He seemed to just be looking forward, toward the table, not at anything in particular. Eventually, he leaned forward and propped his head on his hands.

Streicker says that, when he thought no one was listening, Burke “operated as a seasoned professional” in exploiting his power and position.

“Did Mr. Burke say he would help [601W] for the good of the city? No, absolutely not,” Streicker says.

His law firm hadn’t been hired yet, so he told Solis he wasn’t happy and 601W “can go f— themselves,” Streicker noted.

Gair objects to Streicker’s argument, and her suggestion that Burke had committed such crimes before.

Judge Kendall says Streicker can argue about the “reasonable inferences” from the recordings. Streicker continues.

“Conduct like this reinforces Chicago’s reputation nationwide for corruption, and that business owners have to pay to play in Chicago,” Streicker says. She calls it “repugnant, and it hurts every person in this city.”

Burke has argued that he didn’t profit from his crimes, but “he certainly tried to,” Streicker says.

Streicker also says the value Judge Kendall just set for Burke’s crimes, about $215,000 “understates the true harm that Mr. Burke’s conduct caused.”

“He was the face of city government. … He chose to engage in criminal activity over and over again.”

Streicker says Burke’s age (80) did “nothing to deter him from committing the crimes, and it should not absolve him of punishment.”

Despite his age, she said, “he ably juggled multiple acts of corruption at the same time.”

Ed Burke is looking over papers at the defense table as Streicker’s argument continues. Anne Burke is seated behind her husband, stone-faced.

Streicker turns to the many letters written on Burke’s behalf.

“We of course do not dispute that defendant has done charitable acts” but “those good acts do not outweigh his crimes.”

Streicker cites the first prosecution and sentencing of ex-Ald. Edward Vrdolyak, a Burke ally who initially received probation based on several letters of support. That sentence was overturned, and Vrdolyak wound up in prison.

“Public officials in this city and this state need to understand that if they engage in corruption, they will pay dearly,” Streicker said.

She said Burke added “another sordid chapter” to Chicago’s storied history of corruption, but “that story is not complete without sending a strong message of general deterrence.”

“If a case ever called out for a guideline sentence, it is this one.” A lower sentence, she said, “would not promote respect for the law.”

Before Streicker sat down, Judge Kendall asked about the “status of Mr. Solis.”

Streicker explains that he entered into a deferred-prosecution agreement.

Judge Kendall rules that the federal sentencing guideline range for ex-Chicago Ald. Edward M. Burke is 78-97 months after hours of arguments over the cost of his crimes.

They are not mandatory.

Judge Kendall says the Old Post Office loss is $38,850. That’s 37% of $105,000, because tax appeals are expected to be successful 37% of the time.

The Binny’s scheme loss is $129,527, Kendall rules. She credits the testimony of Renee McMahon.

On the Field Museum, $47,500 holds as the value there, Kendall says.

There’s no loss amount for Burger King.

Keeling’s testimony is done, and we now appear to be done with witnesses in the sentencing of ex-Chicago Ald. Ed Burke.

Lawyers are now up to finish their arguments about how the sentencing guidelines apply.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker calls Renee McMahon’s analysis “speculative” and says Charles Cui believed Binny’s would either pull out of the lease or ask for a rent reduction if he didn’t get a pole sign permit.

“This is what was in the minds of Mr. Cui and Mr. Burke,” she said.

Burke attorney Chris Gair says he “almost laughed” when Streicker said the judge should consider the words of Cui and what he believed the lack of a pole sign would cost him.

“He’s a convicted liar,” Gair says.

Turning to the Old Post Office scheme, Streicker insists the estimate that the crime was worth $105,000 is a “conservative” one.

Burke attorney Robin Waters counters that the agreements for the Sullivan Center and 1 S. Wacker were unambiguously contingent-fee deals. She cites a “tough stuff” rule and says other communications (emails, etc.) shouldn’t be considered when setting a value.

Streicker cites Burke while arguing that he intended to profit: “He wanted the cash register to ring.”

Moving along to the Burger King scheme, Streicker points to $65,000 in profits lost by its owner, Tri-City Foods, when the restaurant was shut down. She again calls it conservative, given that Burke aimed to land legal business for 150 restaurants.

But Waters counters that losses to a third party shouldn’t be considered under the guideline rules here.

Then the final scheme: The Field Museum. Streicker says there’s no dispute that one year in the job Burke sought for his goddaughter there is $47,500 — and that’s what he aimed to obtain.

Gair reprises his argument that the offer from the Field Museum was for an interview.

Judge Kendall asks, “Is that the end?”

She’s getting ready to rule on the loss amounts.

Renee McMahon’s testimony is done. A second witness is taking the stand in the sentencing of ex-Ald. Ed Burke — Kelly Keeling of KBC Law Group.

Keeling is testifying about Klafter & Burke’s contingent fee agreements for the Sullivan Center and 1 S. Wacker, which resulted from the Old Post Office scheme.

Again, at the core of all this is the sentencing guidelines.

The deal for 1 S. Wacker was never signed, and Keeling says neither deal led to any money for Klafter & Burke.

The government says Klafter & Burke stood to make a potential $105,000 off those deals. But Keeling reads from an affidavit that says the government is mistaken.

Now Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane MacArthur is questioning Keeling, whose testimony is going much faster than McMahon’s.

MacArthur and Keeling are disagreeing about the agreement for the Sullivan Center. It called for a flat fee of $15,000 a year. But Keeling says that required Klafter & Burke to obtain a tax reduction.

For 1 S. Wacker, MacArthur confirms that Klafter & Burke filed a successful appeal. Keeling confirms that means it would have been owed $20,000 “if they had executed the agreement.”

The 1 S. Wacker deal was never finalized.

Chicago Ald. Nick Sposato (38th) is the only current alderman I’ve seen in court today.

Sposato, a longtime Burke ally, wrote a letter to the judge on Burke’s behalf because “Ed’s my friend,” he told me. He likened the prosecution’s request for 10 yrs to a “death sentence.”

U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall is back on the bench, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Chapman has resumed his cross-examination of Renee McMahon, vice president of Charles River Associates.

U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall has called for a break.

We’re almost 2 hours into Ed Burke’s sentencing hearing, which has gotten bogged down with very technical financial testimony.

The goal of the defense is to lower Burke’s federal sentencing guidelines. And Kendall must sort this out. But again, the guidelines are not mandatory.

We are in the thick of wonky testimony about how Burke’s team thinks the value of his crimes should be calculated. A line from WBEZ’s Mariah Woelfel’s notes, for proof: “10.42% is the sum of the risk...plus the market risk premium, times beta, plus the size premium. That calculation results in 10.42%.”

Right now, Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Chapman is questioning Renee McMahon, vice president at Charles River Associates, in an effort to clarify her testimony over the “loss” from Burke’s Binny’s scheme.

For example, McMahon found the “present value” of a $1,020 lease payment 50 years from now is $5.80.

But Chapman is trying to pin her down: She doesn’t seem to be saying that $1,020 will be worth $5.80 in today’s money in 50 years.

Rather, she said the promise of a $1,020 payment in 50 years is worth $5.80 today.

Chapman also presses on whether she researched the financial viability of Binny’s. McMahon says that’s not how this works. She looked for the present value as of 9/1/17.

“We don’t want the economic value as of that point in time to be tainted by information that wasn’t known.”

Ahead of the sentencing hearing, lawyers for ex-Ald. Edward M. Burke braced U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall “for a biblical flood of stories and letters from people of all walks of life who have been touched by his kindness and generosity.”

And then they delivered, offering 200 letters — totaling almost 350 pages — from faith leaders, current and former government officials, members of the legal and law enforcement communities, and members of Burke’s own family hoping for mercy.

“I am unable to grasp the thought of us not being together when God calls us home,” wrote Burke’s wife, retired Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Anne Burke.

“As retirees, we get through these days by helping each other with all those daily tasks that are challenging at 80 years old. I am devastated by the prospect that I will not be with Ed at the end of our lives,” she wrote. “Please find compassion through the Holy Spirit in your decision.”

It amounts to Ed Burke’s last, best hope ahead of today’s hearing. It’s also a traditional tactic among convicted public officials facing sentencing in Chicago, including a key Burke ally, that has seen mixed results over the years.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Burke’s defense team is calling Renee McMahon, vice president at Charles River Associates, as a witness.

McMahon says she’s been asked to determine the “attempted avoided rent loss” in the Binny’s Beverage Depot scheme, and what loss Charles Cui would have avoided if he’d gotten the permit for the pole sign there.

McMahon says Cui would have avoided losing $12,240.50 each year had he gotten the permit for the Binny’s pole sign.

It was a 15-year lease, with options to renew up to a total of 50 years.

McMahon testified that a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow, and that several risk factors must be taken into account when considering the value of a 50-year lease.

After a long explanation, she sets the “present value” of the 50-year Binny’s lease at $153,860.

Again, prosecutors say the “loss” in the Binny’s scheme is $612,025, which drives the federal sentencing guidelines up. Judge Kendall must determine how the guidelines apply to Burke. But at the end of the day, she’s not required to follow them.

After lots of legal back and forth, Gair has turned to the Field Museum scheme. He insists there was no job offer: “It was an offer of an informational interview. … Then she has to apply. Then she has to qualify, which she wasn’t qualified.”

Burke has his chin propped up on his hands and still seems to be listening closely to the arguments, even as they turn technical at times.

We’ve moved on to Burke’s efforts to get business from the Old Post Office developers, and what kind of profit Burke’s law firm Klafter & Burke would have actually obtained from 601W.

Burke is leaning forward at the defense table, listening closely.

The judge is turning to a disagreement over the federal sentencing guidelines. She must sort this out, even though they aren’t mandatory. Prosecutors say the guidelines call for a sentence of 10 to 12½ years. Burke’s lawyers say the range is between four and five years.

Defense attorney Chris Gair says they’ll be calling a witness on this front.

The primary dispute here is about the worth of Burke’s crimes. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker explains that the government estimates it at $829,525.

Streicker breaks it down by scheme:

• Post Office: $105,000
• Burger King: $65,000
• Binny’s: $612,025
• Field Museum: $47,500

Defense attorney Chris Gair is arguing about the Binny’s scheme, which he said “drives the sentencing guidelines hugely” (because the value is so high).

He says the real cost was $60,000, which is what developer Charles Cui actually lost.

Part of what’s at issue there is whether the Binny’s would have repeatedly renewed the lease at the property on the Northwest Side. “That is the definition of speculativeness,” Gair said.

U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall has taken the bench for the sentencing of former Chicago Ald. Edward M. Burke.

The judge first told her deputy to hold off on calling the case. She said she has a “bunch of material” she wants to set up.

Now we’re underway. Burke stands as Kendall begins explaining to him how today’s hearing is going to work.

Kendall tells him she intends to fashion a sentence that prevents Burke and others from committing like crimes, promotes respect for the rule of law and avoids any unwarranted sentencing disparities (all of which is how she is supposed to proceed).

Burke sits when she’s done.

Burke is now seated with his defense team, with his wife and children in the front row behind him, in Judge Virginia Kendall’s courtroom as we await sentencing. He’s seated at the end of the defense table, facing the dias.

The public and media are being led into the courtroom and seats are filling up. There are less than ten minutes until the hearing is set to begin. Burke is still seated in the gallery with his arms crossed, looking forward.

It appears all members of the defense and prosecution teams are here now, too.

Former Chicago Ald. Ed Burke is already seated in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall. He’s joined so far by his wife, children and other supporters. He’s sitting for now in the gallery wearing a dark suit and green tie. The hearing begins at 10 a.m.

While we wait, here’s my preview of the sentencing with WBEZ’s Mariah Woelfel. Prosecutors want Judge Kendall to send a clear message to other public officials. Burke’s best argument is likely his age. He’s 80, and a lengthy sentence might mean he dies in prison.

Today has been a long time coming. It’s been more than five years since the FBI raided Burke’s offices, rocking politics in Chicago. Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot has acknowledged it helped her win the 2019 election.

Former Ald. Edward M. Burke (14th) has arrived at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse ahead of his sentencing hearing.

Burke arrived to a sea of TV cameras. He walked in behind his wife and seemed in OK spirits, smiling and shaking the hands of security guards.

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Federal prosecutors say ex-Ald. Edward M. Burke should be sentenced to 10 years in prison for illegally wielding his considerable clout to strong-arm developers and threaten one of Chicago’s cultural icons for his own benefit.

That would amount to one of the harshest public corruption sentences handed down in the city’s federal court in the last decade. That’s especially true for Burke, who turned 80 a week after his conviction last December.

“He abused and exploited his office by pursuing his own personal and financial interests over a course of years,” prosecutors wrote in a 51-page court memo. “Again and again, Burke used his significant political power to solicit and receive bribes from entities with business before the City of Chicago — all so he could obtain legal business for his private law firm.”

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

We’re expecting a packed house today. People are starting to convene near the courtroom, including Burke’s former co-defendant and longtime political aide Peter Andrews, or “lunch pail Pete” as you may remember from trial, who was found not guilty.

Given the sentiment in Chicago’s courthouse, it seems unlikely that Burke walks away from Monday’s hearing with no prison time at all. The most recent former Chicago City Council member to be sentenced there, ex-Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson (11th), was given four months behind bars for crimes valued by prosecutors at about $126,000.

Prosecutors say Burke’s crimes were worth $829,525, though that’s also disputed by Burke’s lawyers.

Still, it raises the question of where Burke might wind up. That decision will fall to the federal Bureau of Prisons and likely won’t be known until after Burke’s sentencing.

Thompson served his time at a low-security prison facility in Oxford, Wis., about 200 miles north of Chicago. It’s often favored by defendants here because of its relative proximity to the city. Former Ald. Ricardo Munoz (22nd), sentenced to about a year in prison, spent time at a minimum-security prison camp much farther away — in Duluth, Minn.

Then, there’s former Ald. Edward Vrdolyak (10th), a onetime Burke ally who recently served five months of an 18-month prison sentence in his mid-80s at a federal medical center in Rochester, Minn. Vrdolyak ended up there after his lawyers raised concerns about his health — concerns that haven’t been raised as urgently about Burke.

Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert was the last politician of comparable stature to leave the building with a prison sentence. A judge gave him 15 months in 2016 for a financial crime. Hastert committed that crime to cover up his past sexual abuse of teenage boys, though, distinguishing it from corruption cases like Burke’s.

That means the most recent meaningful comparison is still to Rod Blagojevich. Zagel handed down the former governor’s harsh 14-year sentence in December 2011, five years after former Gov. George Ryan was given 6½ years for his own crimes in 2006. Zagel reaffirmed Blagojevich’s sentence in 2016 after an appellate ruling sent the case back to him.

“When it is the governor who goes bad, the fabric of Illinois is torn and disfigured and not easily or quickly repaired,” Zagel said in 2011 — words that prosecutors in Burke’s case have quoted to Kendall.

Three governors have served Illinois since Blagojevich without being indicted. That’s hardly a notable event in other states. But federal judges here have still had plenty of corruption sentences to hand down in the meantime. They’ve shown their frustration along the way.

M. Spencer Green/AP file

Burke’s sentencing hearing is set to begin at 10 a.m. Monday at the downtown courthouse. Hearings generally begin on time, so Burke must make his way by then to Kendall’s 25th-floor courtroom — which used to belong to U.S. District Judge James Zagel, who gave 14 years to ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2011.

The former council dean often is accompanied to the building by his wife, retired Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Anne Burke. On such an important day, he’ll also likely be joined by other members of his family, friends and supporters.

They’ll have to make their way through security and past what’s likely to be a horde of cameras in the courthouse lobby.

Once Kendall takes the bench, the hearing will likely follow a ritual familiar to court-watchers. Kendall will need to settle a disagreement about how sentencing guidelines apply to Burke — though she’s not required to abide by them.

Prosecutors say those guidelines call for a sentence of 10 to 12½ years for Burke. His lawyers say the range is between four and five years.