Ex-Ald. Edward Burke, 14th, exits the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on June 5, 2024, following a post-trial motions hearing for acquittal in his corruption trial, which ended in December 2023. After a lifetime of backroom wheeling and dealing, former Chicago Ald. Edward Burke faces the most consequential negotiation of his life on Monday — and in the most public of places.
Those factors make Burke’s sentencing a significant referendum on Chicago’s nationally recognized brand of old-school corruption. It’s unclear whether any live witnesses will be called, but last week, the judge disclosed that members of the public had been reaching out to her office directly asking to speak at the hearing.
After attorneys make their arguments, all eyes will be on Burke, who will have an opportunity to speak to the judge directly. He’s not required to do so, and judges typically assure defendants they will not hold their silence against them. “Those same words spoken by a layperson could possibly constitute blowing off steam. But spoken by the longest-serving alderman and Chairman of the Committee on Finance during a phone call seeking acquiescence for their pending fee increase — that he had previously opposed — means the implications and consequences are night and day,” Kendall wrote.
To bolster their argument about the cost of Burke’s crimes, prosecutors estimated the overall financial loss he caused amounted to nearly $830,000. There were also pleas of mercy from failed mayoral candidate Paul Vallas, and current and former City Council colleagues such as Ald. Nicholas Sposato, 38th, former Ald. Patrick O’Connor, 40th, and ex-Ald. Roderick Sawyer, 6th, whose father, Eugene Sawyer, was elevated to the mayor’s office with key help from Burke after Mayor Harold Washington’s sudden death.
“At no time did I ever see any indication that he was other than a dedicated public servant, always interested in serving the citizens of the city of Chicago,” Webb wrote. The jury acquitted Burke on one count of conspiracy to commit extortion related to the Burger King project.The jury acquitted Burke’s longtime 14th Ward aide, Peter Andrews, of all counts alleging he helped Burke pressure the Burger King owners into hiring Burke’s law firm by shutting down their restaurant renovation.
Regardless of what Burke’s final sentence is, Monday’s hearing will provide a coda to the downfall of a political titan.