Now that Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Anne Burke is stepping down from the state’s highest court, it begs the question: Will her husband, indicted Ald. Edward Burke (14th), do the same?
Will the Democratic power couple ride off into the political sunset, enjoy their grandchildren and prepare for his upcoming corruption trial?
“It appears more likely that he’s not going to run. That he’s moving in the direction of retiring,” said veteran political operative Victor Reyes, who has known the Burkes for years.
“Redistricting put him at a significant disadvantage. All of the precincts that he needed to win the next election have been mapped into the 23rd Ward. His best precincts have been mapped out. It’s gonna make it very, very hard for him to win. … So, what is he staying for? He’s gonna stay an extra nine months to lose the election? This would be a great opportunity for him and the justice to step away gracefully.”
On Monday, Edward Burke became the 16th Council member to decline a 9.62% pay raise. The increase, tied to the rate of inflation, boosts the maximum salary for a Chicago alderperson to $142,772.
But Reyes said declining the raise does not tell him that Burke’s decided on seeking re-election.
“He doesn’t need the pay increase. That’s not a lot of money. And he [long ago] reached the max on his pension,” Reyes said.
“He’s been telling people that he intends to run. But a lot of people do that. It’s normal for people to say they’re running, they’re running, they’re running. And then — boom.”
Two months ago, former state Rep. Dan Burke (D-Chicago) urged his brother, the Council’s longest-serving member, to retire from politics next year rather than risk defeat.
“Do the math. Seventy-eight years old. Come on. When is enough enough?” Dan Burke told the Sun-Times then. “They’ve had a long run. It’s not insulting to say there’s an end to everything.”
Last week, U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-Ill.) gave similar advice after endorsing Jeylu Gutierrez, district director for Cook County Commissioner Alma Anaya, to run against Burke.
“Habits and routines keep people going. The alderman has been in the game so long that it might be hard to take up basket-weaving, sculpting or woodworking. I totally understand that,” Garcia said on that day.
But, he said, “More people know the ethical challenges of the incumbent. The new configuration of the ward chips away at some of the areas of the ward that were lopsided, pro-Trump and pro-Burke. So this is a new majority … of electors that can decide fate of the 14th Ward. Chicago has elected numerous progressives, young progressives … over the last two rounds. And this will not be an exception.”
In March 2018, Dan Burke lost his seat in the Illinois House to Aaron Ortiz, a Garcia protégé.
Dan Burke could not be reached for comment on his sister-in-law’s decision to step down from the bench.
In 2019, Edward Burke was charged with attempted extortion, accused of shaking down a Burger King franchise owner for legal business and for a $10,000 campaign contribution to Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.
Since then, a federal judge has set a November 2023 trial date on far more sweeping racketeering charges, including the alleged Burger King shakedown and three similar schemes chronicled by former Zoning Committee Chairman Danny Solis, who spent two years wearing a wire on Burke.
Among those alleged schemes: That Edward Burke tried to extort business from 601W Companies, developers of the Old Main Post Office, in exchange for his help with a variety of matters, including an $18 million tax-increment-financing subsidy, a $100 million tax break and help resolving issues with Amtrak and the city’s Department of Water Management.
In those recordings, an irritated Burke asks Solis, “Did we land the, uh, tuna,” complains the “cash register has not run yet” and states that until he scores the legal business, he was not “motivated” to help the developer.
“As far as I’m concerned,” Burke says, “they can go f--- themselves.”
