The Latest Breaking News from Anne Burke

The principal says they were told the board couldn't afford to pay for repairs

Indicted Ald. Edward Burke (14th) chose not to seek reelection to a record 15th term in a ward dramatically redrawn to eliminate his most favorable precincts.

Today’s update is a 5-minute read that will brief you on the day’s biggest stories.

Mary Jane Theis will be the fourth woman to serve as chief justice following the late Justice Mary Ann McMorrow, Justice Rita B. Garman and Justice Anne M. Burke. Burke’s tenure as chief justice ended on Tuesday although she will remain on the bench until Nov. 30.

Burke faces charges of using his seat on the City Council to steer business to his law firm in schemes that involved the Old Post Office, a Burger King and a Northwest Side redevelopment project.

“We were in the same political family,” former Illinois Senate President Emil Jones Jr. says. “We were able to elect a county commissioner, we were able to elect state reps, senators — and it all came out of that organization.”

Ald. Andre Vasquez is not one of 17 council members who have declined the latest pay raise. But he’s not oblivious to the pre-election dilemma. In fact, he’s proposing a cap of 5% or the inflation rate, whichever is yes.

“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.”

The retirement comes a year before her husband, Ald. Ed Burke (14th), is scheduled to stand trial on federal racketeering charges.

Ald. Edward Burke’s brother hopes he retires. “The last election — under these very adverse circumstances, he pulled it off. He walked the streets at, what was he, 76 at the time?” said former state Rep. Dan Burke. “Do the math. Seventy-eight years old. Come on. When is enough enough?”

The case involved former Ald. Danny Solis (25th), who was under federal investigation, but his successor, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, had hoped state’s top court would set a precedent that could have broader implications for other politicians, such as former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan and…