Longest-serving Chicago alderman Ed Burke will report to prison Monday; unclear where he will serve

ByBarb Markoff, Christine Tressel and Tom Jones and Chuck Goudie

Friday, September 20, 2024

Ed Burke, the once-powerful chairman of the city council finance committee, will become prisoner number 53-698-424 on Monday.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Legendary Chicago City Councilman Ed Burke is just days from his surrender to federal prison.

Burke served as a Chicago alderman from 1969 to 2023: a total of 54 years and more than anyone in city history.

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On Monday, the once-powerful chairman of the City Council Finance Committee will become prisoner No. 53-698-424.

Former Chicago Alderman Ed Burke was sentenced Monday for his bribery, attempted extortion and racketeering corruption convictions.

That transformation begins when Burke checks into federal prison.

If nothing else, Burke was optimistic during countless investigations, indictments and trial, declaring to reporters, "I'm sure they know I'm a person of integrity and honesty."

But his legal confidence ended when a federal jury found him guilty of racketeering and bribery. He was found guilty of using his position as alderman to extort private legal work from city contractors.

Nearly nine months since his conviction, Burke will be reporting to federal prison on Monday, Sept. 23.

More city leaders and politicians reacted to the guilty verdict Former Chicago Alderman Ed Burke on Friday.

The 80-year-old Burke is the latest fallen legend at Chicago City Hall. He is preceded by dozens of elected officials, government staffers and other bureaucrats who have paved his way to prison.

He had asked to be assigned to serve his two-year sentence at the Oxford Penitentiary in Wisconsin, a state where Burke has also owned a family lake house for decades.

But, according to a court filing, Burke's attorneys said Oxford is no longer in the picture because "the satellite camp at FCI Oxford is now closed." As a result, Burke's attorneys are seeking "a revised recommendation to the minimum security camp at FCI Terre Haute," in Indiana.

That facility west of Indianapolis has been suggested as the location for Burke to serve his sentence. U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall made the recommendation to the Bureau of Prisons, which always has final say.

Some Chicago City Council members say deterring another alderperson from using public office for personal gain will take more than the two year, $2 million fine sentence given to E

Terre Haute has been the prison home to other corrupt Chicago political figures, including ex-Illinois Gov. George Ryan, who spent more than five years in the facility.

BOP officials won't disclose prison assignments before someone is actually behind bars and authorities at the Indiana prison where Ed Burke appears to be headed won't confirm it or discuss it.