Chicago’s longest-serving alderman Ed Burke prepares for prison following corruption conviction

CHICAGO - Chicago's longest-serving alderman will be heading to prison within the next few days.

Ed Burke must report to federal prison by next Monday, but could begin serving his sentence on corruption charges even earlier.

Fox 32's Dane Placko has new information about where Burke may be serving his two-year sentence.

"I still think it's a tragedy," said former Chicago alderman Dick Simpson, who is also a retired political science professor from the University of Illinois - Chicago. "I remember when Ald. Burke came to the city council in 1969. He was part of the Young Turks."

Simpson said it's a saga as old as Chicago itself.

In June, Burke was sentenced to two years in prison and a $2 million fine after being convicted on 13 counts of racketeering, extortion and bribery.

It's a bitter humiliation for the 80-year-old Burke, who served more than 50 years on the Chicago City Council representing the 14th ward on the Southwest Side.

In early August, Burke's attorneys filed a motion saying that while Burke initially requested to serve his sentence at a satellite camp at the minimum-security federal prison in Oxford, Wisconsin, that facility is now "closed."

Now Burke is asking to serve his sentence at the minimum-security prison camp in Terre Haute, Indiana. The federal judge in his case agreed to make that recommendation.

The Terre Haute facility was built in 1960 to house non-violent felons and includes two, eight and 12 person rooms. GED and drug education classes are available, as are opportunities for sports, cards, golf and crafts, according to its Wikipedia page. The prison also served as home for former Illinois Gov. George Ryan before he was released in 2013.

"We've unfortunately just sort of gotten used to corruption. It happens so much in Chicago that it's almost as if it's expected," said Dr. Connie Mixon, a political science professor at Elmhurst University who testified as an expert on public corruption at Burke's trial.

Burke was convicted of trying to steer tax appeal work to his private law firm by shaking down developers and business owners, much of it captured on secret recordings made by former Ald. Danny Solis.

"It is this persistent culture of corruption that stems largely from our legacy of machine politics," said Mixon. "Burke is one of the last of the old school machine politicians in Chicago."

But Mixon and others say it would be foolish to believe Burke going to prison will be enough to change the culture of corruption, even as the traditional machine loses its grip on power.

"The machine has been transformed," explained Simpson. "Particularly under Richard M. Daley and Rahm Emanuel. It still exists in some wards. It's much diminished in power."

A source close to Burke told Fox 32 the former alderman has spent the past two months putting his financial and health affairs in order before heading to prison.

Burke got plenty of support at his sentencing in June, including 200 letters to the judge telling of his good deeds. It’s possible his lawyers could still file an appeal.

But it won't be enough to keep Burke from reporting to prison no later than 2 p.m. this coming Monday.