Will Ed Burke join the list of convicted Chicago aldermen?

With the two federal raids of the city hall and aldermanic office of longtime Chicago pol Edward M. Burke, gave more credence to the reputation of Chicago, being corrupt, even in the previous absence of details on why the Feds did the raid, and what the consequences will be, added rumor to the long list of Chicago aldermen, and governors, tried, and convicted, such as former Governor Rod Blagojevich, and those before him.

Thursday's charge of wiretap fraud in an attempted shakedown of Tri City Foods and its Burger King franchise, has revealed that, not only was this egregious behavior, but now places Burke in a whopper of a mess, pun intended.

While no one can predict, what the outcome will be, it is noted that he has survived previous raids, and come out like the un-slaughtered lamb. But, some locals are saying that the Feds are coming into the Windy City to show that it’s time for a clean up, and the days of the political machine, are waning, and that with the departure of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a new sheriff can reform the old school play. And, that seems to have come into play as some feel that the tap revealed more than what has been stated, and that there was something even more solid; since the feds don't get a wiretap unless they are convinced, they have got something solid, say local media sources.

Paddy Bauler made the infamous quote: “Chicago ain’t ready for reform yet.” And, there are many that believe it, even in the age of Trump, and who had Burke, who is an attorney, lowered his tax bills. and that of other wealthy businessmen.

“A Sun-Times investigation found that Burke’s law firm had saved President Donald Trump $14 million after appealing property tax bills over seven years. Burke’s firm would stop representing Trump’s Chicago interests in 2018.”

The powerful head of the City Council Finance Committee has amassed a wealth of influence and his wife, Anne, is on the Illinois Supreme Court; he has also been a mentor to many, including much of the corral of the current mayoral candidates, including Susan Mendoza, Gery Chico, and bankrolled the Daley Dynasty, of whom, Bill Daley, another candidate, the son of one mayor, and the brother of another.

As the Chicago Tribune pointed out, there had been radio silence on their part, other than murmurs of hope, from most of them, and an unbelievable statement from Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, another candidate, issued from her spokesperson, that she was not close to Burke, yet the record shows that he threw a pricey fundraiser at his home, last year, for her.

One candidate who did speak was Lori Lightfoot, who told the Tribune, ““It seems all these other folks are running for cover and don’t want to talk about him, but frankly, that underscores the fact that we’ve got different factions of the political machine manifested in Mendoza, Preckwinkle, Daley and Chico and others who don’t want to rock the boat because they are very much wedded to the status quo,” said former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot, one of the few mayoral candidates eager to discuss Burke. “It’s telling that they aren’t willing to step up and say, ‘Look, this guy has been in office way too long, he’s been allowed to amass way too much power.’ ”

Then came the revelation that the shakedown involved a $10,000 payment, air quotes, to a certain unnamed politician, who was later identified as Cook County Board President, Ton Preckwinkle, who initially denied the relationship, or the amount,  only later to give some of it back and then after public pressure mounted to give it all back.

She has since defended her role in providing affordable housing, and neighborhood schools, but the die is cast, and her critics are seeing blood in the water, as she gasps for political air.

Looks like Paddy may be right. And, If the city built on a prairie is a rule onto itself, and he is spot on, then what changes, even minor, can be expected, say city hall observers?

There are also religious ties, as part of the role, for many of these, but not all, are Irish Catholics, and in a city where being Catholic was once a pass to political power via the political superpowers, such as Mayor Richard M. Daley, this tie-in cannot be ignored.

Last year when the new financing for public school included a salve to get GOP votes in the state legislature, Cardinal Blase Cupich, was front and center in the negotiations, confident that the new scholarship, which opponents called a tax break, benefited Catholic schools.

While the words clan is often used to describe Irish-American politicians, it has had its humorous acknowledgments: In an aside, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy once affectionately called all of the Irishman, surrounding her husband’s administration, the “Murphia”, and the term seemed to fit old-school Chicago machine politics, and its members like Burke.

Perhaps one of the more outstanding examples of machine politics is when it rose up in protest, and furor, over the election of Chicago Mayor Harold Washington, (the city’s only black mayor), and the scene of Edward Vrdolyak, rising in furor and anger during the Council Wars, and whose colleague in the battles, against Washington, was Burke.

The intersection of race, political power, religion, and money are a potent mix for any major American city, but in Chicago the four are so intertwined, as to be virtually indistinguishable.

The aldermen in Chicago hold near unlimited power, second to maybe those in Boston, and it’s easy to see that Lord Acton was correct, when he said, “Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

While Burke’s status as paterfamilias may be in jeopardy, if the goal of the raid is to “clean up Chicago,” then the Feds may underestimate the many headed hydra that make up machine politics.

In its coverage, the Associated Press, once noted that, “A long series of Chicago alderman have faced state and federal investigations going back decades. Since the 1970s, nearly three dozen aldermen have been convicted. A common joke in Chicago is that so many aldermen had gone to prison that when they saw each other behind bars they'd holler, "Quorum call!"

Among them were Wallace Davis, Jr, Clifford P. Kelley, and Thomas Keane, and countless others as seen above, mostly on bribery and extortion

Keane, having earned a reputation as the “professor” for has vast knowledge, had a public life that “ended in ignominy in 1974 with a federal conviction on mail-fraud and conspiracy charges stemming from some questionable real estate deals,” later served 22 months of a five year prison, said the Trib upon his death.

They also noted, “In his final years, Mr. Keane, though in failing health, regained his law license and was a regular visitor to the downtown restaurant haunts he had frequented for years when he dominated many of the activities in City Hall.”

While Emanuel demurred when asked for a comment, but for many, it seems as if history might repeat itself with Burke, whose attorney, Charles Sklarsky, noted that the "evidence" was not really that and noted, “The transaction described in the complaint does not make out an extortion or an attempt to extort,” Sklarsky told reporters. “We look forward to a prompt day in court to prove the innocence of Alderman Burke.”

Updated Jan. 6, 2018