Ed Burke, Chicago’s longest-serving alderman and one if its most powerful, was charged with extortion in federal court on Thursday. The chairman of the city’s finance committee, who’s been in office for fifty years after succeeding his father, knows a thing or two about money.
According to federal investigators, the former city cop used his power to tie up the business licensing process for a southwest Chicago Burger King restaurant to force the owners to steer their legal business to his firm.
Ed Burke arriving at court – Courtesy Chicago Sun-Times
From the Sun Times:
After the company struggled to have its permits approved, it agreed to steer business to Burke’s firm, according to the complaint. When (city employee Meaghan) Synowiecki asked whether he wanted business from all of its Illinois locations or just those in Cook County, Burke allegedly replied, “Umm, all Illinois locations.”
That was Dec. 19, 2017. An application for a driveway permit from the company was approved the same day, according to the complaint.
But in an almost Leland Yee-like twist, when the feds raided the allegedly corrupt alderman’s offices, they found the long-time gun control proponent was armed to the teeth.
…[F]ederal prosecutors revealed Thursday that nearly two dozen firearms were discovered in Ald. Ed Burke’s offices during their raids in November.
It’s still not known if the guns that were found in November were discovered at Burke’s ward office or at City Hall, but it’s hard to miss the irony of a staunch gun control advocate having to turn over 23 guns as a condition of his bond.
That’s right. Alderman Burke, the embodiment of the city’s corrupt political machine, a man who had campaigned for decades on gun control and Second Amendment restrictions, was found to have 23 firearms in his office.
From outlawing cell phone cases shaped like guns to bans on concealed weapons in places that serve alcohol and broadening the gun offender registry in Chicago, Ald. Ed Burke’s aldermanic record has defined him as an ardent supporter of gun control.
That’s why many people did a double take when federal prosecutors announced that investigators had found nearly two dozen guns not in his home but in his offices.
There’s no word how many he may have had in his home. If anti-gun politicians didn’t have double standards, they wouldn’t have any at all.
This is yet another fine example of the authoritarian ruling class living the “laws are for thee, but not for me” life. Alderman Burke also appears to have violated one of Chicago’s many gun-free zones by keeping guns in his city hall offices.
(430 ILCS 66/65)
Sec. 65. Prohibited areas.
(a) A licensee under this Act shall not knowingly carry a firearm on or into:
(5) Any building or portion of a building under the control of a unit of local government.
But Burke may have benefitted from a special exemption.
Signs posted outside (city hall) prohibit anyone – even a concealed carry permit holder – from bringing a gun into the government building, but as an alderman, Burke may have enjoyed special privileges.
An 1872 law designating aldermen as “peace officers” allows Burke to carry a weapon.
State records show the former cop has also been a licensed private detective and a licensed private security contractor since the 80s, with a valid Firearms Control Card.
Of course.
Facing the extortion charge, Burke now finds himself in very good company. Four of Illinois’ last seven governors have gotten voc-ed experience making license plates in the big house. And nearly three dozen aldermen have been convicted and sentenced to prison over the last 40+ years. In fact, “a common joke in Chicago is that so many aldermen had gone to prison that when they saw each other behind bars they’d holler, ‘Quorum call!'”
Same as it ever was.
“Red Flag ” ALL DemoCRAPS! And some RINOs too….
Color me surprised. Corruption is rampant in Illinois, from the governor all the way down. It’s only going to get worse with that floating fat man.
you send him ribs, i’ll send him chops.
extra gravy, if you follow.
carbonara.
bobbin’ along down (up?) the st. lawrence seaway…
Just make sure you drop him off far enough out or he’ll end up right back in downtown.
Want to talk about corruption? The kind of corruption that leads to dead kids and rich law enforcement?
I’m not surprised at all by the duplicity of of these people. How do you suppose they get votes from both sides of their constituencies?
And if he talks he’ll end up wearing a concrete kimono sucking mud at the bottom of the lake.
I will supply the concrete mix
Easy, kids. This sort of thing is called Resume Enhancement in Chicago as well as much of Illinois… NBFD.
if the bears win jabba will receive a philly cheese cake.
that may push him over the cholesteral brink.
What is Philly cheeseCAKE?
cheese cake made with philadelphia brand cream cheese?
indeed.
http://secondcitycop.blogspot.com/2019/01/twenty-three-guns.html
and as that blog author so succinctly pointed out,
“So now, does Burke – facing 20 years – make a deal for a few other heads? He’s 75 and any Federal time is pretty much a death sentence.”
hahaha, laughing and vomiting at the same time. yeesh.
Never trust a man with a pinky ring.
-paraphrased from Charlie Kelly from Sunny
Hahaha.
I’ll second that hahaha!
Elected and re-elected 12 times! Citizens getting what they asked for…
they’ll have to regerrymander, uh draw the district borders.
my guy at homan square (scary black site!) says all twenty three were .380 glocks. burke was overheard to explain, “i just really like the way they look.”
Is anybody going to check on who bought those guns? My instant assumption was that they were confiscated from citizens under some pretense and found their way into his possession.
Throw downs from police inventory of confiscated gang firearms
.380’s ? While 007 might be happy about that caliber, the general public should know that they’re basically a .45 on stun. (Yes, yes, yes: they’re more of a 9mm–I reload both–but the joke would not be as funny) 😛
In Chicago? I don’t think you understand how elections work in Chicago. The “voting” process in Shi-town includes “Community Organizers” – who pay people in selected precincts to go vote; “Poll Watchers” – who make sure no one who isn’t supposed to be in the precinct gets to vote; and “Election Officials” who reconcile the total votes recorded to the results they were told to report. Aldermen in Chicago are “elected” to as many terms as the Mob decides!
And usually includes walking around money…
You really think a man like that was elected? sounds like he bought or blackmailed his way in
All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.
With so much corruption at all levels of all governments, why is he facing charges? Did he fail to pay tribute to someone higher up the food chain?
PROBABLY
A corrupt politician from Chicago? Shut your mouth!
And just saw this:
https://www.npr.org/2019/01/05/682286587/house-democrats-introduce-anti-corruption-bill-as-symbolic-first-act
how to commit political suicide.
If Demoncrats didn’t have double standards they wouldn’t have any standards at all. That’s pretty much common knowledge.
You filthy common subjects should mind your place.
He’s somebody damnit!
As mentioned by ME yesterday…on a further hilarious thread it seems Toni Preckwinkle(Cook county pres & ASSpiring mayor) gave Ed Burke’s son a no show job worth $100000 per annum. I bet “she” has a collection of gats too😄
i imagine. how much is a spam can of d cells these days?
This is my surprised face <(:+0)
Corruption in Chicago???
Whod a thunk it.
I’m surprised da boyz from da hood do not invade and take control of city hall.
They don’t need to. They have plenty of friends there.
I wouldn’t mind reading in the near future that this democrat terrorist met his end violently inside a democrat factory awaiting trial. The only thing I hate worse than hypocrites are….you guessed it…. democrats.
The only thing I hate worse than hypocrites are….you guessed it…. democrats
A distinction without difference.
Enter Obama and Clinton?
In the 1920s, Chicago government was already corrupt. When Prohibition brought gang violence to the city, along with illegal booze, the city government worked with the criminals to keep a “lid” on the murders – for a price. By the time Prohibition was repealed, the city government was – itself – a criminal organization.
That set the stage for the rise of the Daley mob. Richard J. Daley ran the mob that was Chicago government from soon after WWII until his death in 1976, most of that time he was Mayor of Chicago. When Richard J. Daley died, a small parade of “other” mayors sat in the Daley seat to “prove” that elections were not rigged, before Hizzoner’s son (also Richard) took control. Everything that happened in Chicago was controlled by Daley (father and son) and his henchmen – including Daley enforcer Ed Burke. Everyone who worked for the Chicago government did so because they were vetted, approved and controlled by the Daley Mob – including “community organizer” Barry Obama.
This is the framework that the 44th President of the United States took to D.C. in 2009. Note that Barry Obama also took a Daley controller with him to the White House! And it is the Daley crime family that set the standard and created the model for the current Democrat Party!
I remember when Richard Sr. died. There were no piles of cash, no hidden bank accounts, just a modest bungalow (a common feature on the west side) and a small cabin in Michigan. Daley didn’t care about the money that corruption could bring–though many of his lieutenants did–all he cared about was power. Raw, unquestioned, and nearly limitless power.
That was all that was on the books in his name. Being flashy is how you get caught.
“no hidden bank accounts”
Or maybe he was just much better at hiding them than we were at finding them.
Chitown was know as wildly corrupt well before the 1st US Civil war.
Maybe he was just trying to keep those guns off the street and that’s why Chicago has one of the lowest murder rates.
He was keeping them for his “bodyguards”, I bet they are all untraceable…
http://time.com/5492893/jazmine-barnes-shooting-hate-cime/ ( Sorry for thread “Hijack” )
FWIW, on last Sunday’s alleged “Shooting” of 7 year old Black girl, by a “40ish thin white male”…It NEVER happened…It was another FBI staged Hoax, where no one actually got hurt!
It had all the classic “Hallmarks” of an FBI staged farce: Blurry unclear photo of alleged get away vehicle, Mom crying dry tears and over-the-top, nightly mention on every major news outlet in relation to the tens of other murders which happened in the United States last weekend ( Particularly by minority’s ) .
The nightly update on all the lame stream channels signals one thing?…A follow-up, FBI staged Hoax false flag ( Again, where no one actually gets shot ) against Blacks by this make believe “40ish white male” shooter, to Try and “Grease the Skids” with the newly minted democrat House and RINO Senate, for both more gun control and to Try and get passage of last years: ‘HR 4918 Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act’, which targets White Conservative Christians, as “The Number One Domestic Terror Threat” of the United States
You should be ashamed. You know, real crime does exist, and yes Virginia, real people die in circumstances that were not some government conspiracy. Just ask anyone from Chicago.
Those who hammer their swords into plowshares will plow for those who don’t – T. Jefferson
And because you say so, we’re supposed to believe it? WTF makes you think so? Did you realize the sun never came up this morning? It’s just an FBI coverup!
It’s not about the guns. It’s about the balance of power between the citizens and the state. They want us all to be obedient peasants. Of course the rules that apply to the peasants don’t apply to the nobility.
“That’s why many people did a double take when federal prosecutors announced that investigators had found nearly two dozen guns not in his home but in his offices.
Nobody who actually supports and defends the Constitution including the 2nd Amendment, is doing a double take. Men like this are exactly why the 2nd Amendment was added to the Constitution in the first place and we know it.
For all the Obama sycophantic trolls, he’s on your team…
No Prohibitionist is for Prohibition, they are for limiting ownership (or use of substances) to a “certain class” of people. That means not the poors.
It still amazes me that a lot of people here don’t wish for a violent CW2 because war is really bad and a lot of people suffer. Half of the people in this country should suffer.
You can tell he’s a gangster just by the way he dresses! If I saw that photo without the story I’d wonder what new gangster movie was being made!
Correct me if I’m mistaken, but wasn’t he the guy who got the Chicago handgun registry BRIEFLY reopened because he forgot to register HIS guns?
The Cook County Democrat organization, the bastard child of Al Capone and David Duke.
He, Jon Burge, Tony Abbate and DICK Daley should be sharing a cell.
Comment to Chris Morten : It was aldercreature Dick Mell who was allowed a 24 hour special amnesty to legally re-register his fire arms after he “forgot” to register them like everyone else. Richie anti gun Daley was then mayor.
I guess you can’t tell the mobbed up reptiles without a score card…
Forget it, Jake. It’s Chi-town.
Yeah Chicago? Big F**king suprise.
Dear Ed,
Frank Nitti called. He wants his suit back.
There’s still bigger fish in Chicago
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/kass/ct-met-chicago-13th-ward-alderman-race-kass-20181206-story.html
College kid runs for Alderman and, likely remembering how Obama won his first election by striking opponent signatures on technicalities, got well over triple the needed. The Chicago political machine responds by collecting revocations of these signatures. So many in fact that they get MORE than he had signatures, and none of the names match!
Naturally, despite an open and shut corruption case the Democrats in charge of Crook refuse to do anything. Despite an open and shut state corruption case, Sessions refused to do anything. Can you believe people wanted him to keep his job?
Corrupt politician? Shitcago,it can’t be.
Classic! And, no doubt, he was completely unaware of all of this!
Has everyone forgotten that D.D. Trump is in the “White House”?????????????
So…what’s your point?
Don’t want to burst your conspiratorial bubble, but I think D.J. Trump is in the white house, D.D. Trump has left the building.
I am not surprised at all. They have been terrible in Chicago for at least a hundred years. An what they did to blacks back then was horrific. They didnt care if it was a child. But with all the corruption, Obama was linked to it to. So i have always called him corrupt, an teaming up with Clinton proved it.
Gun Control spelled Restrictions on 2nd Amendment Rights for Everyone, except for those “special persons”, this elected thing being a prime example thereof. Why is this dirt bag out on bail? Also, I wonder as to exactly what sort of plea bargain will be arranged.
Whatever the plea bargain is, it will not make Clinton and Obama happy.
Tyranny is always well armed. Especially compared to the ruled. May be a minority
on this site but I’m convinced local and state governments are the real ‘big government’
abusers reaching out and touching people on a daily basis. I never forget the 2nd amendment is a Federal protection. That makes it harder to repeal and harder for more states to ignore than already do.
I do not know that old fck.Will it make grease for my fire. ?
All the proposals {D}a Chicago Machine has offered in the city and Springfield for decades have included carve-outs for cops (Burke, Acevedo, Munoz). It’s the only way they can get cops to not speak against them openly.
ferns law:
democrats dont actually believe in anything that they preach to you about
“While the allegations have a familiar ring, the details in the 37-page complaint hint that it could be the tip of the iceberg for Burke. According to the complaint, the FBI had won a judge’s approval to wiretap Burke’s cellphone and was already recording his calls before the alleged shakedown at the center of the charge began to unfold in May 2017. It’s unknown what other evidence federal prosecutors presented in the application for the wiretap because that filing remains under seal.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-alderman-ed-burke-charges-20190103-story.html
Reminds me of a story I read years ago. Back when Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden were married, they had a break-in at their home in Santa Monica and called the police. When the police got there they noticed that the publicly anti-gun leftists were “heavily armed”. One of the cops asked Fonda “Your a very vocal opponent of civilian firearm ownership.” “What’s with the heavy hardware here?” Fonda replied, and this is a quote “Oh, that’s for other people, not us.” Makes you wonder how many in Hollyweird would be supporting gun control if they knew that their guns would be going to the smelter along with everyone else’s.
Gun control is only enforced in the ghetto.
When they complain about how the criminal justice system is systemically racist, they know exactly what they are talking about.
Gangs and Politicians in Chicago: An Unholy Alliance
LAWBREAKERS, LAWMAKERS: In some parts of Chicago, violent street gangs and pols quietly trade money and favors for mutual gain. The thugs flourish, the elected officials thrive—and you lose. A special report.
BY DAVID BERNSTEIN AND NOAH ISACKSON
https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/January-2012/Gangs-and-Politicians-An-Unholy-Alliance/
I’m sure this is just the tip of the iceberg of the corruption that exists nationwide. There is no more room in the encyclopedia for the faces to be placed next to the definition of hypocrisy. We only get a small sampling of the crimes committed by our elected officials, and each time it’s met with faux outrage by their supporters. And of course we will never see any of it on MSM outlets. Barry and Rahm learned well from being stewed in the cesspool that is Chicago, they brought all the dirty tricks to DC and we are now having to try and undo the damage.
Nothing new here. Chicago is corrupt and has been so for decades. NOTHING will be done to Ed Burke, and the citizens and businesses will be screwed yet again.
The guy looks like he is related to Al Capone. 23 guns.
Burke would point out in his defense that he and his wife adopted a black child decades ago. There. Got you. He is superior to anyone who might criticize him.
Don’t forget his wife is a state Supreme Court justice.
http://www.illinoiscourts.gov/SupremeCourt/Justices/Bio_Burke.asp
ANOTHER DEMOCRAT!!!!!! Amazing how many there are and yet the people don’t seem to get it! Wake up!
When Democrats finally get your gun they will use theirs to control you. Wake up Democrats, you are blind and stupid
Hey, Rahm, how’s that gun control working out for you?
Should the US Pull Out of Chicago?
We pulled out of Iraq and are pulling out of Afghanistan, should we pull out of Chicago too?
Body count: In the last six months 292 killed (murdered) in Chicago compared to 221 killed in Iraq, and Chicago has one of the strictest gun laws in the entire US.
President: Barack Hussein Obama
Senator: Dick Durbin
House of Representative: Jesse Jackson Jr.
Governor: Pat Quinn
House Leader: Mike Madigan
Atty. Gen.: Lisa Madigan (daughter of Mike)
Mayor: Rahm Emanuel
The leadership in Illinois – all Democrats.
Of course, they’re all blaming each other.
Can’t blame Republicans; there aren’t any!
Chicago school system rated one of the worst in the country.
Can’t blame Republicans; there aren’t any!
State pension fund $78 Billion in debt, worst in country.
Can’t blame Republicans; there aren’t any!
Cook County (Chicago) sales tax 10.25% highest in country.
Can’t blame Republicans; there aren’t any!
This is the political culture that Obama comes from in Illinois . And he is going to “fix” Washington politics for us???
George Ryan is no longer governor, he is in the big house. Of course he was replaced by Rob Blagojevich who is…that’s right, also in the big house. And Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. resigned a couple of weeks ago. That’s because he is fighting being sent to…right again, the big house! Illegal misuse of only $750K. What’s the big deal?
The Land of Lincoln, where governors make our license plates!!!!
Government Analysis
Two Cities
Chicago , IL Houston , TX
Population 2.7 million 2.15 million
Median HH income $38,600 $37,000
% African-American 32.9% 24%
% Hispanic 28.9% 44%
% Asian 5.5% 6%
% non-Hispanic White 31.7% 26%
A reasonably similar match up until you factor in a Concealed carry gun law
Chicago, IL Houston, TX
Concealed carry gun law no yes
# of gun stores 0
84 dedicated gun shops,
1500 places to buy guns
(Walmart, etc.)
Homicides, 2012 506 207
Homicides per 100k 18.4 9.6
Average January
high temp, F 31 63
Conclusion: cold weather causes murder.
Its doesn’t surprise me at all, much like the criminal corrupt city of Chicago, Like Washington DC under Berry at the time, and so many city across the nation, and if you look much Rader, these Coity and counties are run by Democratic’s Take a good look at Detroit, it was run by the left liberal left communist run by the democratic ‘s for the past 60 years, “Look at what they have done for the City, nearly destroy a great prosperous City, that today is try to become what it once was! It will never be the same because once you change the demographic of any community especially the industrialism of what was once Detroit…. It never comes back ever!!!
Hahaha…. Nothing new under the sun. Same with all the reps doing a sit-in in US congress a few years ago. All registered gun owners. Hahaahhaa….. https://youtu.be/2N9SPvtZ6pE
You can get out of anything if you know the right people
Democratic stronghold forever
Illinois is broke,Chicago and most of state overtaxed
Get out people.
Same as it ever was, indeed! One of the 1st gun control acts, the Sullivan Laws in NY from 1911. What the gun grabbers don;t tell you is who those laws are named for Big Tim Sullivan, a Tammany Hall kingpin even more corrupt thn the Clintons. He wanted to make the streets of NYC safe, for him and his cronies as well as the muggers and gangsters in his back pocket. After all, crime victims who can shoot bacl are bad for business. Or how ’bout Charles Rangell, never mind his tax evasion issues, that POS should’ve been arrested for obstructing justice, if not aiding and abetting in the murder of NYPD Officer Phillip Cardillo. Remember Bernie Ward, the anti gun liberal talk show host sensation? He was gonna put Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity in their place. He’s spending the rest of his miserable life as a registered sex offender after doing time for kiddie porn. And speaking of pervs, fmr Seattle mayor Ed Murray, charter member of Everytown for Gun Sense and friend of Shannon Watts, aka Gun Control Barbie, who declined to seek re election. Could it be because he’s under investigation for molesting a bunch of boys including his 9 yr old cousin? Then there’s the Gun Violence Death Clock put up near Times SQ in 1990. This stunt was funded by Robert Brennan, a junk bond dealing scam artist who makes Bernie Madoff look like Mother Theresa. No doubt he had a pragmatic reason for pulling this stunt. Hey, if I scammed all those old folks out of their life savings, I too would be scared sh!tless if they, their kids or grandkids had easy access to firearms. Just sayin’ Then there’s gun control activist Kenneth Glasgow, currently cooling hs heeps in the Dothan, AL jail facing capita murder charges. Seems after speaking at a march for our lives rally in Birmingham he hooked up with a bunch of other thugs intent on robbing someone, when one of his accomplises shot a woman with an ILLEGALLY obtained handgun. The hustle never ends with these scumbags.
Corruption is our country business. They are all in for profit and not to help anyone but themselves. Very sad.
Is “aldermanic” a form of mania?
Every person who has an ethnic name that came from a country whose people were oppressed needs to be made to read that country’s history… there are undoubtedly people in The US with this same name who escaped Ireland because of oppression. Him taking guns in to the office makes him the oppressor. Vote him out while you can! Its disgusting that a man whose native land has such a history of the same can wind up like those who oppressed his people.
One of the biggest disappointments? There are so many typos in this article that I hesitate to share it. PLEASE HIRE A PROOFREADER.
What? A corrupt lifetime politician; say it ain’t so.
Execute him immediately. Today in fact. Send a message and all that.
Well, well, well. Look at this. Alderman charged with extortion and illegally owned 23 handguns in Chicago. Where did he get all the guns? They’re banned! Not very nice for an alderman and anti-gun activist. For shame. I guess crime still happens regardless of… or perhaps because of, the law. That’s why it’s called a “crime” and why criminals in Chicago will always have guns no matter what the City Council and Mayor say.
And most criminals are or have been in politics and the police force. Most corrupt city in America, only slightly ahead of NYC and running neck and neck with Washington D.C.