Ed Burke, the most powerful and longest-serving Democrat city council member, was found guilty of 13 counts of corruption, including racketeering, bribery, and attempted extortion.
The jury trial, comprised of nine women and three men, focused on Burke’s extortion attempts on Burger King’s executives in 2017, which entails the company signing on as his clients at his law firm in exchange for building permits.
Burke was recorded on a call saying that he took the owners to lunch at the Beverly Country Club and was “playing nice with them,” but they never got back to him.
During the trial, prosecutors revealed that Burke insisted on meeting the owners of Burger King before signing permits. They would eventually acquire the permits to do the renovation and start the construction, but Burke shut them down.
The investigation also presented that Burke flexed muscles to pressure developers of Old Main Post Office in downtown Chicago to hire Klafter and Burke, his law firm for legal work.
He also warned the Field Museum that he would turn down their request for an increase in admission fee because they failed to entertain his request for an internship at the museum for his friend’s child.
The city official also leveraged his position to negotiate between 601W Companies LLC of New York and Amtrak because he had ties with a board member for the rail operator.
Burke also targeted Binny’s Beverage Depot, a liquor store in the Midwest.
These corruption activities happened in 2016, 2017, and 2018.
The jury deliberated for 23 hours over four days. They weighed on 38 witnesses and heard more than 100 recordings. The group acquitted Burke on one count of conspiracy.
Burke’s arrest was just a part of the bigger target, which is to prosecute former House Speaker Michael Madigan, who also serves as head of the Illinois Democratic Party.
A key witness to the case was Alderman Daniel Solis, who agreed to work with the FBI after being presented with evidence that he used his position for personal interests.
In a report by the Chicago Tribune, the conviction of Burke and Madigan’s corruption trial signifies the closing of a chapter for the two Democratic powerhouses on the Southwest Side.
Madigan will appear in court on January 3. Similar to Burke, he also faces racketeering charges. The former house speaker’s trial date will close weeks before the scheduled Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
It’s about time that these corrupt politicians get convicted. My hope is that they are sentenced to very lengthy prison terms and sentenced to serve consecutively instead of concurrently. !!
Fine, now how many years will he get?