CHICAGO (AP) — Federal agents executed search warrants at the City Hall office of a powerful Chicago alderman on Thursday as part of an ongoing investigation, the Chicago Tribune reported.
An unidentified law enforcement source told the Chicago Tribune agents arrived at Ed Burke’s aldermanic office Thursday morning, told staff to leave and pulled brown paper across its glass doors blocking the view. Media photographs showed similar paper across the door of Burke’s 14th Ward on Chicago’s Southwest Side.
There were no arrests and none were imminent in the investigation, the Tribune reported.
The 74-year-old Democrat, often described as among the last of the old Chicago machine politicians, has been on the council for half a century representing an area that is now largely Hispanic. Going back three decades, he has chaired the City Council’s finance committee, which makes key budgetary decisions for the nation’s third largest city.
Burke is also a partner in a law office specializing in property taxes and its clients have included the Chicago high-rise tower that bears President Donald Trump’s name.
U.S. attorney’s office spokesman Joseph Fitzpatrick and FBI Chicago spokeswoman Janine Wheeler told The Associated Press the FBI was “executing search warrants at multiple locations” in Chicago. They declined to say whether the target of the warrants was Burke.
A message left at Burke’s ward office wasn’t returned. There was no answer at his City Hall office. A person who answered the phone at his law office and did not identify herself declined comment other than to say: “We really don’t know what’s going on with all of this.”
Burke’s wife, Anne Burke, is an Illinois Supreme Court justice. Ed Burke’s father was also influential in Democratic circles in Chicago until his death in the 1960s. Other Burke relatives have also been involved in Illinois politics.
A long series of Chicago alderman have faced state and federal investigations going back decades. Since the 1970s, nearly three dozen aldermen have been convicted. 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!”
How much info would the attorney general know about this? I don’t know how this all works, but would they have had to let him know? Burke is no saint so this could have gotten past Whitaker but I’m curious if he knew about this or not. Going after a Chicago alderman is a pretty big move and for someone as big as Burke they must have a pretty good amount of evidence to even execute this search and shut his offices down today.
One would think if this was some big roll up of Chicago crime or political crime, that the DOJ would make a bigger deal or announcement about what happened today in terms of some bigger picture. I’m inclined to believe that he is the small fish here and that this is part of something bigger.
We’re all small fish in Trumplandia, get used to it.
Shit really starting to hit the fan today. I think Donald’s going to have brown hair when he gets back!
Mr. McGuire: “I just want to say two words to you. Just…two words.”
Benjamin: “Yes, sir.”
Mr. McGuire: “Are you listening?”
Benjamin: “Yes, I am.”
Mr. McGuire: “Brown Paper.”
Hmmm.
Trump’s Chicago tax attorney’s office is raided, for unknown reasons.
Deutsche Bank (the only bank that would lend to Trump) is raided, supposedly for money-laundering a la the Panama Papers.
Cohen makes a surprise visit to plead guilty to lying about Trump-Russia.
My, what could be going on here?