The Latest Breaking News from Ed Burke

Having a billionaire governor has, on balance, been good for Illinois.

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 changes include ending the privilege that has allowed former Council members-turned-lobbyists to work the floor during City Council meetings and a big increase in potential fines.

Council members show up, on average, for four of every five required meetings, a new analysis by The Daily Line, WBEZ and Crain’s Chicago Business found.

His finally unveiled deferred-prosecution agreement essentially will allow him to go unpunished for his own wrongdoing — and hold onto his lucrative city pension.

“Our residents do not feel safe. People who work here don’t feel safe,” Lopez told the Sun-Times. “We have to right this ship now.”

The feds say a 601W Companies affiliate was going to hire him for property tax appeals for another building. Burke’s firm did the work. 601W reaped the savings — but decided not to hire Burke after his offices were raided.

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…

Since the former Illinois House speaker was indicted under a law that’s been used to go after mob bosses, the charges involving ComEd have gotten the most attention. But there’s another big piece of the case.

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

The hearing was a year-and-a-half in the making, dealing with pretrial motions first filed in August 2020. Burke’s lawyers alleged then that prosecutors withheld crucial information from Chicago’s chief federal judge as they sought to eavesdrop on City Hall phone lines, as well as Burke’s cellphone.