ANNE BURKE: Judge cleared of wrongdoing |
Yes,
her! For the Burke I’m referring to is Anne, as in the spouse of Alderman
Edward M. Burke who, in her own right, serves as a justice on the Supreme Court
of Illinois.
ILLINOIS
JUDICIAL INQUIRY Board has been
conducting its own investigation into a fundraiser that the Burkes held in
their Chicago home for the now-failed mayoral aspirations of candidate Toni
Preckwinkle.
The
inquiry board was trying to determine if Anne Burke herself did anything
inappropriate – as in engaging in conduct unbecoming a judge of any type.
Particularly one sitting on the state’s highest court.
But
it would seem she’s off the hook, so to speak. Nothing that could be deemed
inappropriate. Except in the mini-minds of those individuals who want to
believe that everything a government official does is wrong – and worthy of
prosecution.
The
Chicago Sun-Times reported this week about a letter saying the inquiry board
had reviewed the matter and “determined to close” it. The letter gives no explanation
of why the investigation is over – or any details of what it uncovered.
THE
INQUIRY BOARD cited confidentiality rules as a reason for refusing to publicly
disclose what it learned. Although Jeffery Orr, the son of now-former county Clerk
David Orr and the man who filed the original complaint that got the inquiry
board thrown into the mix, said he was “disappointed” by the ruling.
He
seems more interested in getting nit-picking details that would further enhance
the image of all things related to Burke as being inherently corrupt. Or as he
told the Sun-Times, “Part of the problem in Illinois and Chicago is the
secretive way of doing things.”
For
what it’s worth, Anne Burke had no comment on the matter, although this decision
comes close to the time that federal prosecutors let it be known that they want
more time to investigate Alderman Ed himself.
PRECKWINKLE: Still being blamed for Burke |
He
will continue to have legal types probing his affairs – searching for evidence
that he did something that can be construed as illegal. Although it seems
anybody who was hoping for the Burkes to be taken down as a couple will be disappointed.
ALTHOUGH
THE BURKE issue has already managed to inflict its harm on some political
people – all the people disappointed that they couldn’t beat Ed Burke in his re-election
bid back in February wound up taking it out on Preckwinkle.
Which
accounts for that roughly three-quarters of the vote in the April runoff
election going to Lori Lightfoot. Who herself insisted on continuing to smack
Preckwinkle about for having accepted campaign contributions from people who
were motivated by Ed Burke to do so!
Preckwinkle
is insisting she has tried giving the money away to other sources, although
Lightfoot claims Preckwinkle has kept the funds – which could wind up
bolstering her efforts to remain politically relevant while serving as Cook
County Board president AND as county Democratic chairwoman.
No
doubt Lightfoot would rather see Preckwinkle wither away into irrelevance – and
certainly not become a competing political figure. After all, with the way the
electorate can be politically fickle, it could work out that many voters would
come to the conclusion they voted for the wrong person back on April 2.
FOR
WHAT IT’S worth, the Chicago Tribune contends that some $72,000 of the roughly
$116,000 that Preckwinkle got from a Burke household fundraiser has yet to be
returned.
ED BURKE: Guilt by association? |
Not
that Burke would be getting any money back. The usual way for political people
to try to erase negative connotations to any contributions they receive is to
give it to some charitable cause.
Which
really doesn’t erase the fact that the money was received by the candidate in
the first place. It just allows for a lot of self-righteous rhetoric by
candidates who’d rather not be tagged for the sins committed by their political
supporters.
Which
is what Lightfoot most definitely wants to continue to happen in the case of Preckwinkle
and Burke. If we can’t get the two Burkes put away somewhere, I’m sure those
wanting to operate on ideological grounds will be more than glad to see Toni
pay, in place of Anne Burke.
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