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Ed Burke, Chicago's longest-serving alderman, reports to prison

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Updated  September 23, 2024 3:14pm CDT
Ed Burke
FOX 32 Chicago

Chicago's longest-serving alderman headed to prison next week

We have some new details about where Ed Burke may be serving his prison sentence.

The Brief

    • Chicago’s longest-serving alderman, Ed Burke, will report to federal prison Monday to begin his two-year sentence for racketeering, extortion, and bribery.
    • He was convicted on 13 counts and fined $2 million after serving over 50 years in Chicago's City Council.
    • Burke will serve his sentence at a minimum-security facility in Terre Haute, Indiana.

THOMSON, Ill. - Chicago's longest-serving alderman, Ed Burke, reported to federal prison on Monday.

According to prison officials, Burke arrived at Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Thomson before 2 p.m. The facility is located approximately 150 miles west of Chicago.

FCI Thomson is a low-security federal prison that has an adjacent minimum security satellite camp. The facility holds a total of 2,034 inmates, with 1,901 housed at the main prison and 133 at the satellite camp.

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 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.

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.

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."