CHICAGO _ Chicago Alderman Edward Burke has been indicted on expanded federal corruption charges _ including racketeering and bribery allegations _ alleging the powerful Democrat abused his City Hall clout to extort private legal work from companies and individuals doing business with the city.
A 14-count indictment accused the alderman with half a century in office of corruption in connection with the redevelopment of the old main post office in downtown Chicago as well as two smaller projects in which prosecutors had previously alleged wrongdoing.
The charges also allege that Burke threatened to oppose an increase in the admission fee for a Chicago museum after the museum failed to respond to the alderman's inquiry about an internship there for a child of a friend.
The indictment charges Burke with one count of racketeering, two counts of federal program bribery, two counts of attempted extortion, one count of conspiracy to commit extortion and eight counts of using interstate commerce to facilitate an unlawful activity.
Also charged for the first time was Peter J. Andrews, an employee in Burke's 14th Ward office who is accused of assisting the alderman in attempting to shake down two businessmen seeking to renovate a Burger King restaurant in the ward.
The indictment also named Charles Cui, who was first charged in April for allegedly hiring Burke's law firm in exchange for the alderman's help with a sign permit and financing deal for a project in the Portage Park neighborhood.
The indictment comes nearly five months after Burke was alone charged in a criminal complaint with the Burger King shakedown.
The indictment essentially starts the legal clock ticking toward a potential trial. In the meantime, court proceedings in Burke's criminal case have essentially been on hold.
Prosecutors had twice sought extensions to the deadline to return the indictment, citing the "complex nature of this public corruption case, and the fact that the investigation is ongoing."
Burke, 75, who for decades has had his hands on many of the city's levers of power, was previously charged with one count of attempted extortion stemming from the alleged shakedown of the Burger King businessmen.
A wiretap on Burke's cellphone allegedly captured Burke leaning on the Texas-based executives to hire his private law firm in exchange for help with permits needed to renovate the restaurant, according to the 37-page complaint filed in early January.
When the businessmen didn't seem to be cooperating, Burke plotted with a ward staffer on how to play "hardball," holding up permits and sending a city worker to the site to harass them with unwarranted citations, according to the charges.
At least 9,475 wiretapped calls were made or received on Burke's phone over at least an eight-month period, according to the charges.
The complaint also alleged that Burke pressured one of the company's executives in December 2017 to contribute to the campaign of an unnamed local politician. Sources identified the politician as Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who lost her bid for Chicago mayor earlier this year by a wide margin to Lori Lightfoot.
Burke, who won reelection to a record 13th full term in February despite the cloud of charges hanging over his campaign, is free on a $10,000 unsecured bond while the case is pending. One of his attorneys, Charles Sklarsky, has said the allegations had no merit.
