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.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker argued for a sentence of slightly over eight years (97 months) during the hours-long hearing at the Dirksen Federal Building before U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall. Two years isn’t the bang prosecutors wanted, but it’s not a whimper either. At 80, and for a man who rose as high as Burke did, even two years in prison is punishment and humiliation, a stain on his legacy that Burke, his family and friends fought hard to avoid altogether.
A number of notable leaders, 200 in all, wrote letters to the judge requesting leniency for Burke because of his age and his long list of charitable deeds and generosity. Good deeds are all well and good, but courtrooms are full of stories about convicted felons who paid for funerals or a promising young person’s college tuition. That’s not a get-out-of-prison-free card.
Kendall, before issuing the sentence, spoke about everyday people losing faith in government because of wrongdoing by public officials.
“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, Kendall said. “They’re a part of this erosion. Part of this chipping away at our democracy.”
Burke became the latest in a line of nearly 40 aldermen who have been convicted of corruption since 1972. Chicagoans have, sadly, gotten used to shady politicians. But cynicism and disappointment hasn’t kept them from yearning for elected officials who act with integrity rather than self-interest.
‘Nothing has ever come of it’
Burke, along with his wife, retired Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke, and his supporters, cited his age in attempting to keep him out prison. But age didn’t deter Burke from corruption. It shouldn’t keep him from being held accountable.
He wasn’t a spring chicken when he decided to use his seat on the City Council to steer business to his private law firm, in schemes that involved the Old Post Office, a Burger King near 41st Street and Pulaski Road, and a Binny’s Beverage Depot on the Northwest Side.
Burke was no young rookie when he threatened to block an admission fee increase at the Field Museum when employees there did not respond to his attempts to land an internship for the daughter — described in court at his goddaughter — of former Ald. Terry Gabinski.
And Burke was old enough to know better than to keep conducting himself as if unethical, patronage-driven, Chicago-style politics was never going to go out of fashion.
Yet, as Streicker said in court, this was Burke’s MO, as he “abused his power and exploited his office for private gain again and again and again and again and again over a period of years.”
As for Burke, he reacted to the 2018 raid by federal agents on his City Hall and 14th Ward offices, which set his downfall in motion, like this: “I’ve been under investigation in the past,” Burke told Fox 32. “Nothing has ever come of it...”
This time proved different, as Burke’s then-colleague Ald. Danny Solis (25th) wore a wire on Burke. The recordings helped seal Burke’s conviction in December. Now the man once lauded as “the dean of City Hall” is headed behind bars. Burke, known for his encyclopedic knowledge of Chicago and his crisp, impeccable suits, probably never envisioned this scenario.
If Burke hadn’t been caught, it wouldn’t be the first time an elected official got away with corruption.
But Burke was caught, convicted and now sentenced. “The blame for this is mine and mine alone,” he said in court, just before learning his fate.
It’s a testament to the notion that eventually, justice will be served, even to someone who for years thumbed his nose at being held to account.
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