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| BURKE: Not guilty until proven otherwise |
That
includes Alderman Edward M. Burke, who earlier this year was named in a criminal
complaint alleging some improper activity (trying to shake down the operators
of a Burger King franchise in his home neighborhood) – but who learned this
week the charges against him are now upgraded to include a whole slew of
criminal acts.
IT
WOULD SEEM that the U.S. Attorney’s office for Northern Illinois (ie., Chicago
proper) is planning on making a priority this year (and probably next) out of
going after the man who has managed to survive a half-century in the City Council.
But
instead of celebrating the 50-year mark with a gift of gold, there are those
who want the color orange to eventually predominate (as in an orange jumpsuit
like those worn by prison inmates).
Now
I’m not trying to defend the conduct of Burke. I’ll be as interested as anyone
else in seeing what kinds of details come out of any criminal proceedings that
put Burke on trial before a jury of his peers – who will mostly be people who
don’t have the clout to get out of jury duty.
It
will be intriguing to see if federal prosecutors actually manage to prove their
case against Burke to a degree they can get a criminal conviction against the
already 75-year-old alderman who probably thought he’d finish up his time as a
political elder statesman.
 |
| LIGHTFOOT: She wants Burke out NOW!!! |
NOT
AS A potential federal inmate colleague of the oft-despised former Illinois
governor, Rod Blagojevich.
I
don’t doubt, however, that some people aren’t willing to wait out the process –
the enforcement of which is what gives our society the moral high ground and keeps
our courts from being amongst the more tyrannical systems of the world.
Which
is why I’m bothered by just how swiftly Mayor Lori Lightfoot jumped all over
the Burke name this week in trying to demand his immediate resignation.
It
would seem the one-time federal prosecutor is counting on her one-time legal
colleagues at the Dirksen Federal Building to knock off the man who’s made it
clear he doesn’t view her mayoral election as being some sort of great moment
in Chicago history.
 |
| FRIAS: The lone acquitted alderman |
WHICH
ACTUALLY WAS the area in which Burke liked to think of himself as a master. He
was the alderman who used to like to end City Council debates on issues with
long, drawn-out statements that were loaded with historical trivia and
political factoids that supposedly put every issue into context.
But
which all too often made Burke seem like an overbloated ego with too strong a
sense of his own self-importance.
Perhaps
that’s the reason Lightfoot is eager to see Burke (who managed to win
re-election earlier this year with ease) out immediately, and doesn’t feel like
waiting for the courts to do their business and reach a “guilty” verdict that
would force his immediate resignation.
 |
| Will it be the 'feds' challenging … |
It
would be a lot fewer headaches for Lightfoot – even though someone of her legal
background knows full well she doesn’t have the authority to force him to quit
now. If anything, his continued presence at City Hall is more about political
spite.
NOW
IT’S VERY likely that a “guilty” verdict eventually will be reached. The
process really is rigged against anyone whom prosecutors decide to go after.
Much
is often made of the 30-plus aldermen who, since 1973, were found “guilty” of
some sort of criminal act. Much less mentioned is the name “Ray Frias,” who is memorable
because he’s the lone alderman indicted who ultimately managed to get a “not
guilty” verdict.
So
it may well be that Burke’s place in Chicago political history will be the most
prominent alderman to wind up “doing time” for actions prosecutors deem
criminal, but which some will try defending as, “the way Chicago politics works.”
 |
| … City Hall business-as-usual in Burke trial? Photos by Gregory Tejeda |
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