As we get this into your hands, details are still coming in about the feds charging Chicago Ald. Edward Burke with attempting to use his position as alderman to solicit business for his private law firm. It's a bombshell, as the Tribune's Jason Meisner reports: "As a consummate insider with his hands on many of the city's levers of power, Burke is arguably one of the biggest fish ever reeled in by the U.S. attorney's office, which has famously indicted a succession of Illinois governors, aldermen and other politicians in a seemingly never-ending parade of graft." In office since the late 1960s, the Southwest Side alderman helms the powerful city council Finance Committee and is the sole steward of the $100 million workers' compensation fund. Known for his fedoras, slicked-back hair, pinstripe suits and pinky rings, Burke often had the muscle to decide whether Chicago's most important legislation gets the green light. And he plays a crucial role in redrawing the city's ward maps — a key in maintaining political power amid shifting demographics. That includes his 14th Ward, which is majority Latino. Meanwhile: "The campaign contribution that federal prosecutors allege powerful Ald. Edward Burke requested as part of an extortion scheme was intended for Cook County Board President and Chicago mayoral candidate Toni Preckwinkle, according to two sources familiar with the investigation," writes the Tribune's Bill Ruthhart and Meisner. That's breaking now. Read it here. Welcome to The Spin. |
 Details on the criminal complaint from Meisner: "Burke, one of Chicago's most powerful figures and a vestige of the city's old Democratic machine, has been charged with attempted extortion for allegedly using his position as alderman to corruptly solicit business for his private law firm." Burke appeared before a judge at the Dirksen Federal courthouse Thursday afternoon and was told he has to get rid of 23 firearms found in his offices. Read the story here and the criminal complaint against Burke here. His lawyer, Charles Sklarsky, said the charges were false. What we know right now: Burke allegedly tried to extort a company that owns fast-food restaurants in the Chicago area and needed help with permits for a remodeling job, according to newly unsealed court records. Evidence includes recorded calls from Burke's cellphone, emails and other documents.The complaint also alleged Burke illegally solicited a campaign donation from an executive with the restaurant company for another politician, who is not named in the charges. Why it's extraordinary — even in Chicago: "The criminal charge was jaw-dropping even for a city with a long history of public corruption. While dozens of his City Council colleagues have been convicted and sent to prison over the decades, Burke was largely seen as too clever or sophisticated to be caught. He had faced federal scrutiny several times before but always escaped charges." The Tribune's John Byrne offers a closer look at Burke's tenure here. The timeline: The charges come five weeks after the FBI raided Burke's City Hall and ward offices and just two months before the 50-year City Council veteran — who turned 75 last week — goes up for re-election. Beyond City Hall: As his political fortunes rose so, too, did his business as a prominent property tax appeals attorney, routinely saving some of Chicago's largest business interests millions of dollars on their tax bills. Burke at one time counted President Donald Trump as a client. We reached out to the White House for comment but haven't heard back. Back to Preckwinkle: "In a criminal complaint unsealed Thursday, federal authorities alleged that Burke illegally solicited a campaign donation from an executive with a restaurant company for an unnamed politician. … Preckwinkle's campaign on Thursday acknowledged it received the $10,000 contribution in question, but said it was returned to the donor in a matter of days." Full story. Power couple: Burke is married to Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke. In an emailed statement, a state Supreme Court spokesman said "Illinois judges are unable to comment on pending legal matters" per court rules. |   |
 So much history making and "firsts" as members of the 116th Congress took their oaths of office on Thursday. Consider: Registered nurse Lauren Underwood, 32, of Naperville is now the youngest black woman in U.S. history to serve in the U.S. House, and she's part of a record number of women who took the congressional oath of office. She was among three new Illinois Democrats, including Sean Casten and Jesus "Chuy" Garcia that became part of a blue wave that helped the party win the House and limited the state's tally of Republican lawmakers in Washington to five, the Tribune's Patrick O'Connell wrote in a dispatch from today's events in Washington. Read his story here. In addition to women, "a new generation of Muslims, Latinos, Native Americans and African-Americans in the House creating what academics call a reflective democracy, more aligned with the population of the United States. The Republican side in the House is still made up mostly of white men, and in the Senate Republicans bolstered their ranks in the majority," The Associated Press is reporting. While Latinos made historic gains in Congress, the numbers remain low, NBC News reported after the November election. Read here. And a small but important "first," as reported by the AP: "It's the first new Congress to convene amid a partial government shutdown, now in its 13th day over Trump's demands for money for a wall along the U.S-Mexico border." | |
 From CNBC: "A former campaign aide to Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential bid who allegedly made light of a sexual harassment complaint from a female staffer is set to begin a new job Thursday as chief of staff to incoming Democratic Rep. Jesus 'Chuy' Garcia, D-Ill. Bill Velazquez was a manager on Sanders' Latino outreach team in 2016." A Wednesday New York Times story says: "In February 2016, Giulianna Di Lauro, a Latino outreach strategist for Senator Bernie Sanders's presidential operation, complained to her supervisor that she had been harassed by a campaign surrogate whom she drove to events ahead of the Democratic primary in Nevada." Velazquez told the Times he didn't recall making the remark and sent the complaint up the chain of command. The Spin reached out to Garcia on Thursday. No word back yet. Read the New York Times story on the Sanders campaign here and the CNBC report here. | |
 Two more mayoral hopefuls have been bounced from the race by election officials, the Tribune's Gregory Pratt reports. Catherine Brown D'Tycoon and Roger L. Washington did not have enough valid signatures on their petitions to make the Feb. 26th ballot, officials said. That winnows the field to 15 candidates, down from the original 21. Read the story here. The first attack ad: Gery Chico, former board president for Chicago Public Schools and City Colleges of Chicago, released a pair of ads — including the first attack ad in the crowded mayor's race. Read more here. Ricketts, Eychaner write big checks to Preckwinkle: The Chicago Cubs so far haven't ponied up for mega-free agents Bryce Harper or Manny Machado, but the team's ownership continues its involvement in working to shape city government. Co-owner Laura Ricketts, who has donated money to other Democrats over the years, recently gave Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle $12,500 toward her run for Chicago mayor, according the state Board of Elections. The donation from Ricketts, dated Dec. 28, was not the first time she's given to Preckwinkle, records show. Including the latest donation, Laura Ricketts has given Preckwinkle more than $38,000 since 2010. In all, Preckwinkle reported $226,500 in donations Wednesday that included $100,000 each from Fred Eychaner, a top national donor to Democratic candidates, and SEIU Healthcare Illinois Indiana PAC. *Track Illinois campaign contributions in real time here and here. | |
 From the Tribune's Rosemary Sobol: "After spending the night in a West Side lockup, Ald. Ricardo Munoz pleaded not guilty Thursday to a charge of misdemeanor domestic battery alleging he attacked his wife on New Year's Eve." Sealed divorce record: Sobol and Tribune crime reporter Jeremy Gorner's story on Munoz's arrest and charges notes that the alderman and spouse two were heading to divorce court nearly a decade ago, though we don't know what unfolded because the court file was off limits to the public. Excerpt: In a 2013 story on Cook County judges sealing divorce records, the Tribune reported that a judge had impounded a divorce filed by Munoz's wife in 2009. At the time, Munoz told the Tribune he had sought to seal the divorce records because 'it dealt with some very embarrassing drinking issues." Munoz said then that he had reconciled with his wife. "I'm a public figure and the court has rules, and I played by those rules," Munoz said of the sealed divorce records. "I didn't ask for any special treatment. … I chose to keep it private." | |
|
沒有留言:
張貼留言