As prospective jurors walked into the courtroom for the second day of former Chicago Ald. Ed Burke’s federal trial on Tuesday, there was a change to the scenery.
A display in the hallway touting historical public corruption convictions – listing the likes of former Illinois Govs. Rod Blagojevich and George Ryan – was covered at the request of Burke’s attorneys.
The display was hidden behind brown paper, much like Burke’s windows were the day the FBI raided his offices in late 2018.
Indicted in 2019 alongside aide Peter Andrews and developer Charles Cui, Burke is accused of using his official positions as 14th Ward Alderman and Finance Committee chair to steer private business to his law firm.
Burke is the longest serving City Council member in Chicago history and was a towering figure in city politics for more than 50 years. He’s charged with 14 counts of racketeering, extortion and bribery, brought on after the feds flipped his then-fellow Ald. Danny Solis, convincing Solis to wear a wire for two years.
Burke’s trial entered its second day of jury selection on Tuesday, with prospective jurors coming from all across northern Illinois. They were again asked a litany of questions, many centered on their knowledge of the case, their own political involvement and their understanding of what an alderman does.
Attorneys on both sides wanted to know: how closely have these prospective jurors been watching?
Chicago Politics
“They are attempting to discern how well-informed they are,” said political science professor Dick Simpson, who served on City Council with Burke in the 1970s. “People who know a lot about Chicago politics already have a firm view of Ald. Burke and it’s probably negative.”
One defense attorney played a word association game with a juror from the suburbs, offering: “Chicago politics.”
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
Her reply? “Messy.”
Prosecutors asked another who moved out of Chicago as a child: “When you lived in the city, did you have any interaction with your local alderperson?”
“At nine years old, no,” she responded, to laughter.
While most of the 20 screened on Monday said they had not heard of the case, some of the 17 questioned on Tuesday said they had seen a few headlines, but nothing more.
And while the majority said they had little knowledge of Burke, there were some small connections.
One prospective juror said her husband previously worked for Chicago’s Department of Streets and Sanitation, where he had suffered an injury and went before the Finance Committee Burke controlled for decades in order to get compensation.
Another said her neighbor is the son of Ed Vrdolyak, who – alongside Burke – led the City Council bloc opposing Mayor Harold Washington in the Council Wars of the 1980s.
Still, most said they had heard little to nothing about the case and had not formed opinions on any of the defendants – likely soon leaving Burke’s fate in the hands of 12 people wholly unfamiliar with his power.
By the end of the day Tuesday, the judge and attorneys had questioned 37 prospective jurors in total, striking 11. They need to reach 47 before seating 12 jurors and 4 alternates, meaning jury selection will continue Wednesday and likely into Thursday.
