Ex-Ald. Edward Burke leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse after he was sentenced to two years in prison and fined $2 million for his corruption conviction on June 24, 2024. Former Chicago Ald. Edward Burke leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on June 24, 2024, after being sentenced to two years in prison and fined $2 million.
Instead, Burke looked every bit of his 80 years, a deposed politician with silver, thinning hair, in a dark suit and pocket square, striking a humbled tone. Moments later, U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall sentenced Burke, the former chairman of the city’s Finance Committee and one of the last vestiges of the old Chicago political machine, to two years in federal prison in a corruption case that rocked city politics and ended his storied and controversial six-decade career.
Many court watchers expected Burke to get more time in prison, especially in a building where judges have recently harangued against the costs of corruption. Even the hefty fine is likely of limited consequence for Burke, whose net worth was calculated in court as somewhere near $30 million and who is eligible under a generous state law to convert to personal use about $2.45 million from the nearly $8 million still in his political fund.
The judge also saved some criticism for the U.S. attorney’s office for its unprecedented deferred prosecution agreement with former Ald. Daniel Solis, who wore a wire against Burke and others and was rewarded with a deal that will keep him even having a conviction on his record — let alone serving jail time.
Moments earlier, Burke had addressed the judge in a highly anticipated moment of the long-running case. Though not known for his brevity on the City Council floor, Burke kept his remarks to the judge very short, and stopped short of apologizing for any of the crimes for which he was convicted. Former Chicago Ald. Edward M. Burke leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on June 24, 2024, after being sentenced to two years in prison and fined $2 million for corruption.
But perhaps none wielded so much power for so long as Burke, the head of the vaunted Finance Committee who not only worked the city’s purse strings but also was a shrewd ward boss, political tactician and judicial slate-maker. The hearing kicked off with attorneys attempting to put a price tag on Burke’s crimes: The money that was lost, or potentially lost, due to his efforts at extortion and bribery. The number that Kendall eventually settled on — about $215,000 — was far below what prosecutors had argued, which lowered Burke’s sentencing guidelines to about six to eight years behind bars.
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