Ald. Willie Cochran pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of wire fraud for spending money from a ward fund meant for charity on personal expenses.
He could face up to 18 months in prison as part of his plea deal with prosecutors. He is set to be sentenced June 20, and his guilty plea ended his tenure as alderman.
As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped charges he took bribes from businessmen in his ward. In a statement after his guilty plea, Cochran said he was “happy” prosecutors made that decision and remained steadfast that he took no bribes. He left the courthouse without further comment.
The plea hit a hitch during the hearing after Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather McShain laid out the factual basis for Cochran’s plea. When U.S. District Judge Jorge Alonso asked Cochran if what the prosecutor said was true, Cochran replied “for the most part.” Cochran’s lawyer asked for a break, which the judge granted. Then the judge asked for Cochran to say what he did in his words, which caused yet another delay, before Cochran returned and pleaded guilty.
Cochran admitted that after a donor gave $2,000 to his ward’s charitable account, he withdrew $489 to gamble with at a casino.
A federal indictment had been hanging over the 20th Ward alderman’s head for more than two years. It came in December 2016, going public as the City Council was singing the praises of the then-World Series Champion Chicago Cubs.
Cochran insisted at the time he would not resign from the council, saying in a text message to the Sun-Times that “you resign when you are guilty.”
“Indictments are not guilty pleas,” said Cochran, who did not run for re-election.
Just last November, Alonso set a trial date for Cochran after Cochran’s attorney said plea negotiations with federal prosecutors had broken down. Word arrived earlier this month that Cochran had again changed his mind.
Cochran’s guilty plea comes amid a series of headline-grabbing public corruption scandals in Chicago.
Fellow Ald. Ed Burke (14th) was charged by federal prosecutors in January with attempted extortion. The Sun-Times then revealed that the feds had built a corruption case against Ald. Danny Solis (25th) prompting him to secretly record Burke. And earlier this month, former 10th Ward Ald. Edward Vrdolyak pleaded guilty in a separate case to tax evasion.
Cochran’s 15-count indictment accused him of fraud, extortion and federal program bribery.
