« I’m not sure that it matters [whether Burke is re-elected] because the weight of evidence against him seems pretty dramatic. »
The question is not whether Ald. Ed Burke (14th) can get re-elected after being charged with attempted extortion. The question is whether the election even matters to the future of Ald. Ed Burke (14th).
That’s the bottom line from David Axelrod, the former presidential adviser now serving as director and founder of the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago.
Two months ago, Axelrod predicted that the Nov. 29 federal raid of Burke’s City Hall and ward offices would lead to Burke’s indictment.
Since then, Burke has been charged with attempted extortion. The following day, Burke relinquished the Finance Committee chairmanship that has been his primary power base for decades.
The Chicago Sun-Times has since disclosed that Ald. Danny Solis (25th) spent more than two years wearing a wire recording more than two dozen conversations with Burke as movers and shakers sought city actions.
Now, Axelrod says surviving the election is the least of Burke’s troubles.
Seventeen days before the May 20 inauguration, federal prosecutors must decide whether to seek Burke’s indictment from a grand jury.
“I’m not sure that it matters [whether Burke is re-elected] because the weight of evidence against him seems pretty dramatic… Charges that have been brought are the tip of the iceberg,” Axelrod said.
“It’s not surprising….that he said he’d fight. Most people in that situation start off in that position… But his lawyers are gonna have to examine the weight of the evidence and decide whether it is wise to fight the thing and take the risk of a [Rod] Blagojevich-type term” in prison.
