If Ald. Edward M. Burke goes to trial, it could still be at least a year away.
Federal prosecutors plan to ask for an “early 2021” trial date in Burke’s sweeping racketeering case when they return to court next week. That’s according to a four-page status report filed Thursday at the request of U.S. District Judge Robert Dow.
That report says prosecutors have continued to turn over evidence as recently as Nov. 5 to lawyers for Burke and his two co-defendants, Peter Andrews and Charles Cui. So far, it says the feds have turned over more than 100 discs, more than 44,000 pages and “several boxes of hard copy material.”
However, there is additional evidence prosecutors don’t want to turn over until six months before the trial, according to the report. Defense attorneys say they understand the additional material to be “vast, and is made up in large part of recorded conversations.” The defense attorneys want the material sooner.
Material related to Burke turned over so far has been “comprised of documents collected from various City Departments, subpoenaed from third parties, and seized from the 14th Ward Office and Committee on Finance” as well as “voluminous recordings,” the report says.
Lawyers for the defendants say they are still reviewing the material. The case is set for a hearing Tuesday.
The indictment against Burke accuses the powerful 14th Ward alderman of using his seat to steer business toward his private tax law firm amid schemes that involved the Old Main Post Office, a Burger King at 41st and Pulaski, and a redevelopment project on the Northwest Side. Andrews and Cui were implicated in the Burger King scheme and the redevelopment project, respectively.
The indictment showcased the undercover work of former 25th Ward Ald. Danny Solis, who wore a wire as a secret federal informant. It revealed that, by August 2018, authorities had recorded more than 62,000 of Burke’s phone calls.
A November 2018 raid on Burke’s office revealed the existence of multiple, ongoing federal investigations into public corruption. Also charged in separate cases since then are state Sen. Thomas Cullerton, who is due for trial in July, former state Rep. Luis Arroyo, who appears on track to plead guilty, and former state Sen. Martin Sandoval, who pleaded guilty Tuesday to a brazen bribery scheme involving red-light cameras.
