SPRINGFIELD – Illinois' next Supreme Court chief justice has been the topic of several online discussions since last month's announcement that the wife of a Chicago alderman facing federal charges would soon hold the highest judicial position in the state.
On October 26th, Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke will become the Court's chief justice.
Her husband, Chicago Alderman Ed Burke, disassociated himself recently from his law firm after the feds tossed his way 14 charges. Burke is well-known as the "Mike Madigan of the Chicago City Council" – and dictator of the city's notorious 14th Ward.
For years, a Burke approval was necessary for any Democrat seeking judicial office.
But the Burkes' blatant power is getting just a little too much for some. Maybe even a little embarrassing – because only a few complained publicly about the set up. That was until WBEZ's Dave McKinney wrote Tuesday:
Since Justice Burke joined the Supreme Court in 2006, a WBEZ analysis has identified 10 cases in which she participated at the same time her husband’s firm was being paid by parties in those cases to cut their property tax burdens. Those entities included banks, a big Chicago landlord, a suburban shopping mall, a prominent downtown hospital and ComEd.
There’s no evidence to suggest that Anne Burke, who is about to become the state’s highest-ranking judge, deliberately swung cases to benefit her husband’s clients. But one thing is indisputable: Some of the Supreme Court decisions Justice Burke helped shape spared some of her husband’s clients from significant financial and legal risk.
But to be critical of the power couples' dealings is wrong, wrote columnist Scott Reeder in a recent column published in several local newspapers statewide with headline like: "Judge shouldn't be punished for spouse's behavior," or "Criticism of Judge Burke misguided" or "Commentary: Due process or power grab?" Reeder lectures anyone criticizing the couple as not assuming innocence until proven guilty or overlooking the judge's kindness is starting a Special Olympics program.
It's amazing how the corrupt Democrats in Illinois find media to defend them – and shame those that ask questions. It never fails.
But that's a side issue – sort of. The Chicago and Capitol media always do everything they can to make doubters look unethical, immoral or just plain stupid. The Chicago and Capitol media are co-conspirators in this state's ongoing and embarrassing corruption reputation. They've helped the state get in the mess it's in.
But something's going on – all that glittered is no longer gold – because WBEZ – Chicago's ever loud PC promoters – has turned on the Burkes. At least it looks that way with this week's "revelation" about the Burkes.
Ten cases WBEZ found in which Judge Burke failed to recuse herself involved companies that were her husband's clients.
One of them included that pesky Com Ed – one of the Burke firm's largest clients. One for which the Burke firm saved Com Ed $4.3 million in property tax refunds over the past ten years.
“No one thing honestly strikes me as being the smoking gun that leads you to say, ‘Aha, here’s the wrongdoing,” said Charles Gardner Geyh, an Indiana University law professor and one of the nation’s pre-eminent scholars on legal ethics told WBEZ.
“But collectively, something smells a bit fishy,” he said.
And thus our headline…
