The heat broke on Monday, a beautiful, clear, low-humidity early summer day in Chicago, beginning to end. A great time to be out and about, free and easy. I rode my bike to the paint store, got on my knees in the garden. The very last place anyone would want to be is inside a courtroom, particularly if you were the guilty party, like former City Council member Ed Burke, waiting to see how long you'd be put away.
Citing his role in "this erosion ... this chipping away at our democracy," Judge Virginia Kendall gave Burke two years in prison, plus a $2 million fine.
I wonder which hurt more — the time or the money? For a man who would endanger his reputation to grab some more money and gain a client. Over a Burger King driveway easement. I'm always amazed at how little people wreck their lives over. For Dan Rostenkowski it was postage stamps, crystal and a couple of chairs. George Ryan got a grand back from some vacation. Rod Blagojevich didn't get anything, but tried to shake down a children's hospital.
Two years. Not the 10 the prosecution sought. A light sentence, but more time in jail than anyone, never mind an 80-year-old with nine-tenths of his life behind him, wants to contemplate.
Give Burke credit. Unlike Blago, who multiplied his own prison time by being too stupid to realize he'd done anything wrong, Burke copped to his guilt.
"The blame for this is mine and mine alone," he said.
That is refreshing. We live in an age of denial, when nobody is caught so red-handed they can't off-load responsibility somewhere else. Then again, Ed Burke always had style.
It'll be in a minimum-security federal prison. Not quite a resort, but he won't be raking a tin cup across the bars, either.
But still, prison. Lights on, lights out, go here, go there. It's like being sentenced to two years in a cinder-block-walled, fluorescent-lit cross between junior high school and the worst summer camp ever.
Was I the only one, when Burke received his punishment, to think of Frances McDormand's great speech from the end of the Coen Brothers darkly comic thriller "Fargo?"
The very pregnant chief of police, Marge Gunderson, is driving a wrongdoer to his appointment with justice, and recounts his crimes.
"So that was Mrs. Lundegaard on the floor in there?" she intones, in her somber, yah-hey-dere Minnesotan accent. "And I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper. And those three people in Brainerd. And for what? For a little bit of money. There's more to life than a little money, you know. Don'tcha know that? And here ya are, and it's a beautiful day. Well. I just don't understand it."
Burke probably couldn't help himself. Half a century of power and habit, he just expected anyone who wanted to make something happen with the city to throw business his way, too. His interests and the city's were one. He didn't need the money, didn't need to buy more expensive suits. Quality like that doesn't wear out or go out of style. It was just Monopoly money at that point, another marker of success, like a Brioni label.
That has to be the most galling thing. He was already rich. He sent himself to prison out of habit. For pressing too hard into a federal wiretap for more business he didn't need. There's a lesson in there somewhere: Know when you have enough. I might buy my suits at Suits 20/20, but I don't have to extort money from anybody to pay for them.
Citing his role in "this erosion ... this chipping away at our democracy," Judge Virginia Kendall gave Burke two years in prison, plus a $2 million fine.
I wonder which hurt more — the time or the money? For a man who would endanger his reputation to grab some more money and gain a client. Over a Burger King driveway easement. I'm always amazed at how little people wreck their lives over. For Dan Rostenkowski it was postage stamps, crystal and a couple of chairs. George Ryan got a grand back from some vacation. Rod Blagojevich didn't get anything, but tried to shake down a children's hospital.
Two years. Not the 10 the prosecution sought. A light sentence, but more time in jail than anyone, never mind an 80-year-old with nine-tenths of his life behind him, wants to contemplate.
Give Burke credit. Unlike Blago, who multiplied his own prison time by being too stupid to realize he'd done anything wrong, Burke copped to his guilt.
"The blame for this is mine and mine alone," he said.
That is refreshing. We live in an age of denial, when nobody is caught so red-handed they can't off-load responsibility somewhere else. Then again, Ed Burke always had style.
It'll be in a minimum-security federal prison. Not quite a resort, but he won't be raking a tin cup across the bars, either.
But still, prison. Lights on, lights out, go here, go there. It's like being sentenced to two years in a cinder-block-walled, fluorescent-lit cross between junior high school and the worst summer camp ever.
Was I the only one, when Burke received his punishment, to think of Frances McDormand's great speech from the end of the Coen Brothers darkly comic thriller "Fargo?"
The very pregnant chief of police, Marge Gunderson, is driving a wrongdoer to his appointment with justice, and recounts his crimes.
"So that was Mrs. Lundegaard on the floor in there?" she intones, in her somber, yah-hey-dere Minnesotan accent. "And I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper. And those three people in Brainerd. And for what? For a little bit of money. There's more to life than a little money, you know. Don'tcha know that? And here ya are, and it's a beautiful day. Well. I just don't understand it."
Burke probably couldn't help himself. Half a century of power and habit, he just expected anyone who wanted to make something happen with the city to throw business his way, too. His interests and the city's were one. He didn't need the money, didn't need to buy more expensive suits. Quality like that doesn't wear out or go out of style. It was just Monopoly money at that point, another marker of success, like a Brioni label.
That has to be the most galling thing. He was already rich. He sent himself to prison out of habit. For pressing too hard into a federal wiretap for more business he didn't need. There's a lesson in there somewhere: Know when you have enough. I might buy my suits at Suits 20/20, but I don't have to extort money from anybody to pay for them.
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"So what if Burke is eighty? BFD.
ReplyDeleteThe man did the crime, now let him do the time.
Give him a year, or even two..."
---Grizz '65, on 6/17/24
Sorry, no fast horse picks or stock tips. Just a lucky guess...
Well, Grizz, I think that guess was well informed. A few months in jail, Burke could do "standing on his head" as they say, but a year and more is significant. You have to get used to thinking of yourself as a convict, you have to learn how to behave so that you don't offend some clown who will beat the shit out of you, you have to get along with plain harsh authority: "Come here, go there" is only the start. "Make that bed again, asshole, and those corners better be right." From universal respect to no respect at all. I don't know if he's really sorry for his wrong doing, but even the most lenient prisons are no fun. Plus, his worries may not be over. He'd better be sure his income tax and property taxes are squeaky clean. Covering his tracks with clients and accomplices concerning other questionable behavior (think Trump and his ilk) is paramount. I don't exactly feel sorry for Eddie Burke, but I don't envy him. Of course I never did.
Deletejohn
john
Thanks. Two years might make an impression on Eddie, but I think it may just be business as usual, with his old buddies, when he gets out. Or IF he gets out--appeals can take years, and he might croak first. Ten years would have been a life sentence, and he'd die in the slammer. I was hoping for maybe four or five or six years. That would send a message to others of his kind, and it would be a toss-up as to whether he'd make it out alive.
DeleteStill, at his age, two years is a good wallop. And better than one. Or none...which could easily have happened. Your description of life behind bars sounds pretty accurate. I've known several people who've been locked up for drug trafficking, and they said pretty much the same thing.
Even at a "Club Fed" ...and having a job like tutoring inmates for their GEDs...you are not exactly on holiday at a resort. You're dealing with hard-core felons and lifers and gangbangers, many of whom have nothing to lose by kicking your ass, or worse...and not necessarily death, either. No need to spell the word out, so I won't. Yeah, even at eighty. There are some sick puppies in those kennels.
And the folks who run the joint...absolute authority. And absolute power can corrupt absolutely. Even when working for Uncle Sam. You not only have to deal with asses being kicked, but asses having to be kissed. Eddie's spent a lifetime as the kissee, and not the kisser. That may be the toughest jolt of all...from lord to lackey. It will definitely mess with his head.
Two years in prison is a goddam fucking joke!
ReplyDeleteYet another foolish federal judge, snowed under by the bizarre supporting letters he got from so many famous Chicagoans.
Just what the hell is wrong with Bill Kurtis & his praising that crook?
Or Garry McCarthy, a life-long cop supporting a crook? Is it that Burke was a cop 55 years ago, a job he got, not on merit, but as a nepo baby son of an alderman?
Undoubtedly yes!
Then his father the alderman croaks & he takes the job & keeps it. Because of Burke's crookedness, we the taxpayers of Chicago lost billions in tax money from the tax appeals he did for wealthy building owners, such as the deal he got the fat orange traitor for his building, that has no commercial tenants, because they want nothing to do with a building that has his disgusting name on the side in 20 foot tall letters! So then the rest of us must make up that lost tax revenue & our real estate taxes go up & up!
Since federal inmates must serve 85% of their sentence before parole, I certainly hopes he croaks in 20 months he must be locked up & I hope it's in real pain!
Judge Virginia Kendall is not a man Clark. nor is she a fool. when you get the simplest details wrong it makes the rest of your screed highly suspect. try to reel it in man. you embarrass yourself
ReplyDeleteThat's a simple typo & she is a fool!
DeleteYou embarrass yourself by defending that fool!
Did he “cop to his guilt”? He said the blame for “this” is mine. But “this” can mean a lot of things, including the blame for getting caught and finding himself in this situation.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t hear the part where he expressed remorse not only to his family but also to the victims, his constituents and all residents of Chicago. Did I miss that?
ReplyDeleteHe basically said he was sorrowful that he got convicted.
DeleteTwo years seems about right. Ten years would have been an unwarranted death sentence, home confinement a joke. An acknowledgement and apology would have been nice, but highly unlikely given who Ed Burke is. I'm mildly sorry for Anne, but she's a powerful woman and she'll be ok. She may actually appreciate the respite.
ReplyDeleteAs others have indicated, from my readings about Burke's trial he never acknowledged any guilt nor expressed any remorse for what he did. His "apology" was to his family and friends for their inconvenience/suffering (depending on your view). And his lack of remorse was, supposedly, a factor to be weighed in his sentencing. So if he actually felt bad at all, and had he actually apologized, he might have gotten off with just a fine and maybe home confinement.
ReplyDeleteMy prediction is we see reports of him back at glad-handing old pals at steak house lunches before the next mayoral election.
It is a bit gross that the Judge referenced the letters. How many of them do you think were truly genuine? How many wrote them without being asked?
ReplyDeleteI imagine there will be an appeal. he may never serve a day.
ReplyDelete"I wonder which hurt more — the time or the money?"
ReplyDeleteEven for a guy who obviously likes money, I'm pretty sure it's the time. As the Tribune editorial today states: The $2 million fine was, on one level, a big bill for Burke to have to pay but also very disturbing to us. As the judge noted, the fine is uncommonly large, but she only levied it because he could easily afford to pay. Thus it left the impression of a powerful man being permitted to purchase years of freedom, simply because he had sufficient resources to do so."
What I don't understand is this. The Sun-Times article states that "His main political fund had about $167,693 on hand as of the end of March." The primary Tribune article says: "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." If the latter is correct, the $2 million is really put into perspective.
I'll also say that I'm a little surprised by your attitude toward this, NS. They finally figured out a way to convict him of something, but hasn't it been an open secret for decades that he did this kinda stuff? I just don't see how this sentence is much of a deterrent to those who want to follow in his footsteps. As much as I like Marge Gunderson, 30 million dollars is more than "a little money." If this was the first time he'd ever abused his power, it might seem silly for him to have risked it. Isn't that pretty unlikely, though? If he's been doing it for a long time but never been so sloppy before -- well, this is a slap on the wrist.
"Sentencing guidelines called for up to eight years." But, because he's old and has done some nice things, she'll give him a break. No wonder people think the justice system is completely rigged for the rich.
And as others above have noted, that was not a very impressive apology. I read it as "the blame for *getting caught* is mine," and he's really sorry about that, and for thereby putting his wife and family through this ordeal.
It really isn't all his money; he collected it because clients were buying his access. No doubt he has other millions to get him through this life. I have a good friend who received a kindness from the Burkes for her daughter, remains grateful. He obviously can be kind but it doesn't cancel out dismissing his oath. I doubt he'll be in jail for six months, if that. I have a friend who spent three years in prison for a political crime. He read hundreds of books. His biggest complaint was the noise level.
ReplyDeleteWorst summer camp ever…hilarious!
ReplyDelete