CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Ed Burke, the former Chicago alderman who became the longest-serving member of the Chicago City Council, was found guilty of racketeering conspiracy and 12 other counts in federal court on Thursday.
The jury also found Burke guilty of federal program bribery, attempted extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion and using interstate commerce to facilitate an unlawful activity.
Burke’s racketeering count, alone, carries a maximum 20-year sentence.
WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore said Thursday’s verdict was a case of “the mighty falling.”
Burke was accused of using his City Hall power and clout to try and get business for his private Chicago-based law firm from developers, including a New York-based team that was tackling the renovation of the old Post Office.
“He’s been in the middle of an awful lot,” Dellimore said. “[He’s] controlled an awful lot. His power started fading under Rahm Emmanuel, and he left under a cloud.
“Now, this is about as low as it can get.”
Following the verdict, retired Channel 32 political correspondent Mike Flannery, who covered City Hall for four decades, joined WBBM live to discuss his key takeaways from the case.
"I just focus on the fact that one of the key elements on which this whole case turned was aldermanic prerogative," Flannery said. "It allows a City Council member to, effectively, be the final authority to overturn things. The jury has now agreed [that] Burke abused that power."
At the heart of this, Flannery said, was how Burke used his power as a city official to block people from getting what they wanted from the city until they used his law firm.
"He did it for people big and small, as big as Donald Trump," said Flannery. "At Trump Tower, Burke cut his property tax assessments by millions and millions and millions of dollars."
One of the key pieces of evidence in Burke's trial: a series of audio recordings, many of which were captured by former alderman Danny Solis.
"The feds actually didn't call former alderman Solis as a witness because there's a variety of salacious and unsavory things about the situation the feds caught him in, [which] got him to flip as a witness and then wear a wire on the likes of Burke," Flannery said.
He added: "It shows the power of those recordings."
In addition to Burke, Solis secretly recorded former House Speaker Mike Madigan, whose trial is scheduled to start in a few months.
Former mayor Lori Lightfoot was among those who reacted to the verdict. Lightfoot's 2019 victory came on the heels of Burke's indictment, and she often sparred with Burke during City Hall meetings.
"With this verdict, Ed Burke should rightly be remembered as a man who elevated personal ambition and greed over doing the people's work," read Lightfoot's statement.
Burke, who will soon turn 80, will now await sentencing.
Stay tuned to WBBM Newsradio for the latest on this story.
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