Who is Ed Burke? The downfall of a Chicago political giant

CHICAGO - Ed Burke served in the City Council for 54 years, and during most of that historic tenure, he was considered the most powerful alderman in Chicago.

But on Thursday, the former 14th Ward alderman was found guilty of 13 felony counts in his corruption trial that began in November. The counts included: racketeering; corruptly soliciting, demanding, accepting, or agreeing to accept things of value; using an interstate facility to promote unlawful activity; and attempted extortion.

The corruption schemes occurred in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

While it was a big, sprawling, complicated case, the central charges struck at the heart of Chicago politics.

"Ed Burke was charged in a federal grand jury indictment in 2019 with a variety of criminal charges," explained former FBI Agent Ross Rice.

It was a stunning development. FBI agents swooped into City Hall with a search warrant, papering over the windows of Ald. Burke's Finance Committee Office.

Then, months later, the powerful political fixture was charged with 14 counts, including bribery, racketeering and attempted extortion.

Four years later, Burke and his legal team were in a courtroom at the Dirksen Federal Building starting for a jury trial that was expected to last several weeks.

The story is 54 years in the making.

Former Chicago alderman and retired UIC political scientist Dick Simpson says Burke got his start as a Chicago police officer, taking over for his father as 14th ward alderman when he died in 1969.

Burke quickly amassed power and became one of the so-called "Young Turks" who would occasionally challenge legendary Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley in the 70s.

However, it was as leader of the "Council Wars" in the 80s, a faction of white aldermen who battled Black Mayor Harold Washington, that brought Burke political fame.

"They were so large that they could block most of the legislation proposed by Harold Washington. For instance, a number of his appointments, a number of his budget decisions," said Simpson.

During Burke's long tenure in the City Council, he also had another job as a property tax lawyer and allegedly used his political clout to generate business for his law firm.

"So Burke from the very beginning used his power, particularly as head of the finance committee, to get businesses to hire him for property tax reductions," said Simpson.

The feds had been investigating Burke for years but couldn't crack the code. Then, there was a breakthrough. 

"The problem here was that he was caught on tape trying to get clients by using his clout in the City Council. So there was a quid pro quo," said Simpson.

FBI agents then built a corruption case against former Chicago Alderman Danny Solis, who then agreed to cooperate with the feds and wear a wire.

"He wore a concealed recording device. He recorded in-person meetings he had with Ed Burke. He recorded telephone conversations he had with Ed Burke," said Rice.

Later, investigators were able to obtain a warrant to tap Burke's phone.

"According to court documents, they intercepted over 9,000 conversations during an eight to ten-month period," said Rice.

Among those conversations was Burke shaking down the owners of a Burger King in his ward, holding up building and driveway permits until they agreed to hire his tax firm for an appeal.

"When you have the defendant's own words in their own voice and can present that to the jury, there's no better evidence," said Rice.

On a recorded call, Burke is heard saying that he took the owners to lunch at the Beverly Country Club and was "playing nice with them," but they never got back to him.

Political aide, Peter J. Andrews, then replied: "I will play as hard ball as I can."

Federal prosecutors say the Burger King eventually obtained a building permit from the city and began their remodeling work – but Burke soon shut the construction down.

During an in-person meeting that Solis recorded, Burke was seen on the phone, then said, "Give Danny a call because I think he is going to be a main player in this whole process."

Jurors also listened to a phone conversation secretly recorded in 2017, where the Burger King allegations were discussed.

"And, we were going to talk about the real estate tax representation, and you were going to have somebody get in touch with me so we could expedite your permits," Burke is heard on recorded phone call audio saying.

Someone then says, "I'm sorry Mr. Burke, was what that last part?" – to which Burke responds, "You were going to have somebody call me so we can help you make sure you get your permits, for the remodeling."

In an unusual twist, Solis testified but not for the feds. He was called as a defense witness by Burke's attorneys.

The judge also ruled that prosecutors could not talk about Burke's work in lowering the tax bill for former president Donald Trump, saving him millions of dollars on his namesake building along the Chicago River.

Additionally, evidence presented during the trial revealed Burke's role in other schemes, such as trying to muscle developers – like the Old Post Office development in the West Loop and a retail development on the Northwest Side – to hire his law firm.

Burke also threatened to oppose an admission fee increase at the Field Museum because the museum never responded to Burke regarding a request for an internship at the museum for a child of one of his friends.

Burke has said little publicly about the cases besides a brief statement he made before he was charged back in 2018:

"I've been in office for 49 years. I've been under investigation in the past. Nothing has ever come of it and I've always cooperated. And I'll cooperate with whatever this investigation is."

The trial most likely was watched closely by former Democratic House Speaker Mike Madigan, who faces similar charges and was also secretly taped by former Ald. Solis.

"The Burke trial will be a good barometer as to how that evidence is received by a jury, how significant they consider it to be. How damning it is," said Rice.

Co-defendant and real estate developer 52-year-old Charles Cui, of Lake Forest, was found guilty on five counts: corruptly offering or agreeing to give things of value; using an interstate facility to promote unlawful activity; and knowingly making a false statement to the FBI.

A third defendant and aide to Burke, Peter Andrews, 74, of Chicago, was acquitted of all charges against him.

Cui will be back in court on June 17 for sentencing.

Burke, 79, is due back in court for sentencing on June 19. The racketeering and extortion counts are punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison. The counts for corruptly soliciting and accepting things of value are punishable by up to 10 years, while the maximum for both using an interstate facility to promote unlawful activity and making a false statement to the FBI is five years.