The historic corruption trial of former Chicago Ald. Edward Burke has begun.

       The son of a Democratic ward boss and alderman, Burke, 79, served more than 50 years on the City Council and allegedly ran the Finance Committee like his own personal fiefdom before his office was dramatically raided by the FBI in November 2018.

       Burke is charged with 14 counts, including racketeering, federal program bribery, attempted extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion and using interstate commerce to facilitate an unlawful activity.

       At the heart of the indictment are more than 100 secretly recorded meetings and phone calls prosecutors plan to play that allegedly show Burke using his elected office to win benefits for himself, mostly through business for his private law firm.

       Burke’s defense team, meanwhile, will try to show that Burke’s maneuvering was nothing more than politics as usual.

       The crux of Burke’s defense will likely be to knock down Solis, who was caught in his own corruption scheme before agreeing in 2016 to become an FBI mole and secretly record Burke.

       The trial is expected to last about six weeks.

       Follow our writers — Jason Meisner, Megan Crepeau and Ray Long — for the latest news and see coverage throughout the trial below.

       Ald. Daniel Solis, 25th, listens as his fellow alderman speak at the City Council, June 27, 2012. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

       Danny Solis, alderman who turned FBI mole, expected to hit witness stand next week in ex-Ald. Ed Burke corruption trial Former Ald. Daniel Solis, whose unprecedented turn as an FBI mole helped the feds take down two princes of Chicago’s Democratic political machine, is expected to be called as a defense witness next week in the corruption trial of his former colleague, ex-Ald. Edward Burke.

       The undercover recordings made by Solis have been the centerpiece of Burke’s ongoing trial, but Solis himself has been something of an enigma. Prosecutors opted not to call Solis as their own witness, and while Burke’s lawyers promised the judge they’d call Solis, it was not mentioned to the jury in opening statements. Read more here.

       ‘It felt like a shakedown’; Witness challenged by defense about meeting with Ald. Ed Burke on Burger King renovation A former executive involved in the remodeling of a Southwest Side Burger King testified Wednesday that an early meeting about the project where then-Ald. Edward Burke demanded charitable donations and other concessions “felt like a shakedown.”

       Jeff MacDonald, who was in charge in the early stages of the renovation of the restaurant in Burke’s 14th Ward, also told the jury in Burke’s corruption trial that the alderman asked him at the end of the March 2017 meeting who did the property tax work for MacDonald’s Houston-based bosses.

       MacDonald testified his response to Burke was “that I didn’t know, and that it was probably done out of Houston,” adding that Burke seemed “irritated” and the whole meeting, which was also attended by Burke’s longtime ward aide Peter Andrews Jr., made him “uncomfortable.” Read more here.

       ‘I was taken aback’: Burger King exec testifies about uneasiness with then-Ald. Ed Burke linking permits with tax firm work The son of a Texas-based fast-food restaurant tycoon told a federal jury Tuesday he was “taken aback” when then-Ald. Ed Burke seemed to draw a direct link between helping with permit issues for their Southwest Side Burger King renovation and hiring Burke’s private law firm to do property tax appeals. Read more here.

       ‘Dealing with an alderman was uncharted territory’: Executive testifies about ex-Ald. Ed Burke’s involvement in Burger King project Zohaib Dhanani was a 20-something executive from Texas in charge of renovating nearly two dozen Chicago-area Burger Kings when he had his first-ever encounter with an elected official.

       And it wasn’t some county hack. It was Edward M. Burke. Read more here.

       Infamous ‘tuna’ quote, other secret recordings paint picture of old-school Chicago in Ed Burke corruption trial The behind-the-scenes intrigue surrounding the Old Post Office renovation is the centerpiece of the high-profile trial and was the focus of the third week of testimony, where prosecutors unleashed a memorable string of dozens of secret audio and video recordings of Burke playing the dual role of City Hall powerhouse and private lawyer prowling for legal work.

       Prosecutors said Friday they have about a week of evidence left to present in their case in chief.

       The recordings showed Burke welcoming the post office developer, Harry Skydell, and his son at one City Hall meeting, then sliding two Klafter & Burke business cards toward them. Later, he was caught on camera smirking as he told Solis he was reluctant to help Skydell because “the cash register has not rung yet.” Read more here.

       Ald. Ed Burke finally landed ‘the tuna.’ And then it got away, evidence in corruption trial shows. After two years of exhaustive pursuit, Chicago Ald. Edward Burke had finally landed “the tuna.”

       And then it got away.

       That was the story heard in Burke’s corruption trial Friday, where jurors have been shown evidence all week about the then-powerful Finance Committee chairman’s alleged chase of private legal work from the developers in the $600 million makeover of the Old Post Office.

       Wiretaps played in court captured Burke referring to getting business from the project’s developer, Harry Skydell, as “landing the tuna.” Read more here.

       Ed Burke seen in a secretly recorded video.

       Jurors see secret video of Burke pitching private law firm to Old Post Office developers, offering to help with thorny Amtrak issue One of the most crucial pieces of evidence in the sprawling racketeering indictment against Ed Burke was presented in court Wednesday.

       Burke had just finished pitching his private law firm to the developers of the Old Post Office in October 2016 when he asked his assistant to bring in some pamphlets and business cards.

       Unbeknownst to Burke, his colleague, then-Ald. Daniel Solis had a hidden video camera pointing right at him as Burke wrote something down on the back of the Klafter & Burke materials and slid it over Harry Skydell and his son, who had flown in from New York to meet Burke face to face. Read more here.

       ‘While you’re at it, recommend the good firm of Klafter & Burke’: Jurors in ex-Ald. Ed Burke corruption trial hear first secret recordings by FBI mole Daniel Solis Chicago Ald. Daniel Solis was a newly minted FBI mole in August 2016 when he was instructed to call his then-powerful colleague, Ald. Ed Burke, and talk about the massive $600 million renovation of the Old Post Office.

       After some seemingly innocuous conversation about the project’s New York-based developers and local contractors who’d be vying for work, Burke made an unsolicited comment that surely perked up the ears of the FBI agents listening in the wire room.

       “Well, while you’re at it, recommend the good firm of Klafter & Burke to do the tax work,” Burke told Solis on the Aug. 26, 2016, recording, which was played for the jury in Burke’s corruption trial Tuesday. Read more here.

       Jurors hear more about alleged Burger King scheme before Ex-Ald. Ed Burke’s corruption trial is again slowed by a lawyer contracting COVID The testimony came as the historic trial was supposed to see its first full week starting Monday after an unexpectedly slow jury selection, followed by a COVID-19 diagnosis for one of the defense attorneys and a shortened week for the Thanksgiving holiday put the proceedings behind schedule.

       U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall has said that despite the delays, she still expected the trial to finish by the Christmas holiday, which is now just four weeks away. Read more here.

       With ‘the tuna,’ Burger King and ‘the riot act,’ the trial of Chicago political icon Ed Burke is already finding its place in city lore The federal racketeering case against Ed Burke is pure Chicago.

       At its core, the Burke trial, which just wrapped its third week, is about a series of alleged shakedowns by the longest-serving alderman in City Council history — a potential highlight reel for the sordid legacy of City Hall. Read more here.

       Burger King tycoon recounts morning FBI showed up at his Texas doorstep with questions about Ald. Ed Burke: ‘I was relieved when they said I’m not in trouble’ On the morning the FBI raided then-Ald. Edward Burke’s City Hall offices in November 2018, four federal agents more than a thousand miles away descended on the home of Houston-area fast food restaurant tycoon Shoukat Dhanani.

       When Dhanani answered his door that day in Sugar Land, Texas, the agents immediately assured him he was not in any trouble, but said they were investigating Burke and needed to ask him some questions about a Burger King that Dhanani had purchased and renovated in the 14th Ward, Dhanani told a federal jury in Chicago on Wednesday. Read more here.

       ‘I’d also like to get some of his law business’: Testimony in ex-Ald. Ed Burke corruption trial moves to alleged Burger King scheme Federal prosecutors on Tuesday began to serve up their case that then-Ald. Edward Burke tried to shake down the owner of a Burger King in his Southwest Side ward, playing recordings where the powerful Democrat made clear he was after the company’s tax business.

       The Burger King scheme is one of four main episodes charged in Burke’s federal racketeering indictment, and the only one that involves Burke’s co-defendant, former 14th Ward aide Peter Andrews Jr. Read more here.

       Former Field Museum higher-up tells jury about Ald. Ed Burke reading her the riot act over dropped internship application Deborah Bekken, a onetime Field Museum director, was calling powerful Chicago Ald. Edward Burke to ask for his support for the museum’s proposal for a fee increase in September 2017 when he caught her off guard with an immediately chilly demeanor.

       “Well, uh, I was surprised to hear from you —to be very frank,” a gruff-sounding Burke said to Bekken on the Sept. 8, 2017, call, which was secretly being recorded by the FBI. Burke grew more icy as he explained that he’d recommended a good friend’s daughter for an internship at the Field Museum but never heard back. Read more here.

       Ex-Ald. Ed Burke corruption trial resumes with expert giving ‘Schoolhouse Rock’ version of Chicago political power Jurors in the federal racketeering trial of ex-Ald. Edward Burke got a lengthy crash course in the intricacies of City Hall on Friday, a seminar that a prosecution expert labeled the “Schoolhouse Rock” of Chicago politics. Read more here.

       Fiery opening statements begin in corruption trial of ex-Ald. Ed Burke Even as a heavyweight Chicago leader constantly in the city spotlight, Ed Burke lived a double life, federal prosecutors said.

       Outwardly he was the most powerful and longest-serving alderman on the City Council, Assistant United States Attorney Tim Chapman said, leading the Finance Committee for decades.

       But secretly, “He was something else instead. He was a bribe-taker and he was an extortionist,” Chapman told jurors in opening statements Thursday at Burke’s landmark racketeering trial.

       For the defense, Burke attorney Chris Gair painted Burke as a zealous public servant, a proud lawyer and an enthusiastic Chicagoan who made all those phone calls simply to help people. “This is a bribery case without bribes and an extortion case without extortion,” he said. Read more here.

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       Former Chicago Ald. Edward Burke leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago during a lunch break in his corruption trial, Dec. 6, 2023. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

       Corruption trial of ex-Ald. Edward Burke resumes after weeklong COVID-related delay After a sluggish start to jury selection and a weeklong COVID-related delay, the corruption trial of former Chicago Ald. Edward Burke finally expected headed to opening statements Thursday after a jury was empaneled. Read more here.

       Trial of ex-Ald. Edward Burke delayed a week after lawyer tests positive for COVID The trial had been scheduled to kick off in earnest a week earlier. But soon after convening the fourth day of proceedings on Nov. 9, U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall announced that one of the lawyers in the case was sick and two others were not feeling well, forcing her to tell everyone to stay away from courthouse.

       “Sorry for this news, but it is in our time,” Kendall said. “Stay healthy, and make sure you drink your orange juice and get your sleep. Because we have work to do.”

       Unlike previous trial days, everyone on Burke’s team was wearing masks, including the former alderman, as were prosecutors at the table across from them. Attorneys for one of Burke’s co-defendants, Charles Cui, appeared by phone. Read more here.

       Sluggish jury selection ends A total of 54 potential jurors were questioned over three days, with 37 making it through “for cause” strikes to the next round.

       The pace of jury selection was markedly slow.

       Potential jurors were asked in granular detail about their social media presence, their gaming habits, their pets and their relationship with some of the entities that figure into the indictment: Binny’s Beverage Depot, Burger King and the U.S. Postal Service.

       Among those questioned were a man who has a rescue snake named Medusa and two geckos named after animé characters, a homemaker who moderates a Jane Austen fan website and a 20-year-old junior college student who works as a host at a chef Gordon Ramsay restaurant in the suburbs. Read more here.

       Former 14th Ward Ald. Edward Burke arrives for his alleged political corruption trial at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse Nov. 6, 2023, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

       Ex-Ald. Edward Burke finally getting his day in federal court Former Ald. Edward Burke arrived at Chicago’s federal courthouse Monday looking much like the powerful Democratic politician who ruled City Council for decades, dressed to the nines, silver hair combed back, American flag pin on his lapel.

       Only now he’s a private citizen in the fight of his life. Read more here.

       Jurors in Ald. Edward Burke trial won’t hear Trump’s name Jurors in the racketeering trial of former 14th Ward Ald. Edward Burke are going to hear a lot of names, including fellow aldermen, city commissioners, developers, architects and restaurant franchisees.

       But one name they will not hear: Donald Trump.

       That’s because prosecutors have agreed to redact Trump’s name from an undercover recording where Burke talked about how his private law firm had won property tax breaks for Trump’s downtown Chicago skyscraper. Read more here.

       Lawyers for ex-Ald. Edward Burke confirm they will call alderman turned government mole Daniel Solis as a defense witness After a month of legal jockeying, lawyers for former Chicago Ald. Edward Burke confirmed in court Monday they will call alderman turned government mole Daniel Solis as a defense witness at Burke’s upcoming racketeering trial.

       The announcement by Burke’s high-powered defense team comes a month after prosecutors left Solis off their witness list, saying they planned to introduce dozens of undercover audio and video recording Solis made in the bombshell investigation through other witnesses.

       Prosecutors had asked that Burke’s attorneys be barred from calling Solis simply to try to impeach his credibility and question the unprecedented deal he got from the U.S. attorney’s office. Read more here.

       An FBI mole at the 2016 Democratic National Convention: The origin story of the Ald. Edward Burke corruption probe A who’s who of Illinois Democrats was gathered in Philadelphia in July 2016 for the party’s national convention, where Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders were vying for the chance to take on Donald Trump.

       Among the Chicago heavyweights in attendance that week was Ald. Daniel Solis, a staunch Clinton supporter who told the Tribune the excitement of potentially having the first woman in U.S. history ever to be nominated for president was “a historical moment in the life of this country and in my life.”

       As it turned out, Clinton’s nomination wasn’t the only history going down in the City of Brotherly Love. Behind the scenes, one of the most significant public corruption cases in Chicago history was about to be born. Read more here.

       Originally Published: Nov 16, 2023 at 11:30 am