Politics

‘Very Sick’ Ex-Ald. Carrie Austin Could Endure Trial With Additional Medical Care, Expert Testifies

Ex-Ald. Carrie Austin (34th Ward) could withstand the rigors of a federal corruption trial if she is given additional supplies of oxygen, access to medication during the day and breaks when needed, a doctor told a federal judge Tuesday.

Dr. Susan Russell, a pulmonologist with the Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute, had determined that Austin was too ill with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder too ill to help craft a defense to the charges she took bribes from a developer and lied to FBI agents.

But under questioning by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Peabody, Russell said that while Austin would face an “increased” risk of her disease worsening during a trial where she was provided with necessary medical care, it would not be “substantial,” the legal standard for calling off the trial now set for Nov. 3.

“It is still an increased risk but less than substantial,” Russell said during a nearly hour-long hearing which served as a mini-trial focused on Austin’s health and ability to endure further legal proceeding.

Under questioning by Austin’s attorney Tom Durkin, Russell agreed that the former alderperson is a “very sick woman” whose chronic health conditions were getting worse.

U.S. District Court Judge John F. Kness said he would issue a ruling on June 13, more than two and a half years after Austin’s lawyers first argued she was too ill to stand trial. It has been nearly four years since Austin, 75, once one of the most powerful members of the Chicago City Council, was indicted.

Austin is receiving an annual city taxpayer-funded pension of more than $121,000, according to records obtained from the Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago by WTTW News.

In July 2021, Austin was charged with accepting bribes from a developer, including bathroom tile and a sump pump and lying to FBI agents.

Appointed in 1994 by Mayor Richard M. Daley, and elected six times by Far South Side voters, Austin served on the City Council for approximately 28 years and six months, rising to serve as chair of the powerful Budget Committee under former Mayors Richard M. Daley and Rahm Emanuel.

Austin has a “long history of heart problems,” including a heart attack and coronary artery disease that required heart bypass surgery in the early 2000s, according to records filed by her attorneys. In addition, Austin underwent a double mastectomy in February 2021 after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015.

In April 2021, Austin had another surgery connected to a long history of life-threatening gastrointestinal bleeding, according to her attorneys.

During a Dec. 15, 2021, City Council meeting, Austin collapsed and had to be revived by Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41st Ward), a former firefighter.

The bulk of the charges Austin faced involve a firm that began building a $49.6 million redevelopment in her former Far South Side ward that includes Roseland in 2014.

That development was eligible for $10 million from the area’s tax increment financing district as well as money from the “aldermanic menu” fund controlled by Austin to be used for infrastructure projects in the ward, including road resurfacing, according to the indictment.

According to the indictment, Austin accepted new kitchen cabinets — worth $5,250 — in June 2017 from the developer. The next month, the firm gave Austin two “brand new” and “expensive” sump pumps and had a representative of the firm buy and install a new dehumidifier in her home, according to the indictment.

Austin also asked the developer to install new “bathroom tiles in white or vein white,” in her home, according to the indictment.

Austin was charged along with her former chief of staff Chester Wilson Jr., who is charged with bribery conspiracy and two counts of using interstate facilities to promote bribery.

Federal prosecutors also charged Wilson with stealing government funds by orchestrating a scheme to buy Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits at a discount, records show.

In October 2017, the firm agreed to pay for a portion of a new heating and air conditioning system at Wilson’s property because, as one unnamed individual told Wilson, “You help me a lot, and I’ll help you,” according to the indictment. Another unnamed individual said, “[If] I get what I want next week, it’s worth it” to pay for the upgrades to the property owned by Wilson, according to the indictment.

Wilson and Austin also had granite countertops installed at their properties as part of the scheme, according to the indictment.

The first indication that Austin was under investigation by federal officials came on June 19, 2019, when the FBI raided her ward office, hauling away boxes and files. After the raid, Austin denied wrongdoing.

Austin lied to the FBI that very day, according to the indictment. When agents told her that the developer had installed a dehumidifier at her house, Austin replied “not to me,” according to the indictment. Austin said she got nothing from the developer “other than a cake,” according to the indictment.

Thirty-eight members of the City Council have been convicted of a crime since 1969.

WTTW News’ Jared Rutecki contributed to this report.

Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]

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