Chester Wilson, 59, was former Ald. Carrie Austin’s chief of staff when he was indicted in July 2021 alongside his boss, once one of the most powerful politicians in Chicago.

Former Chicago Ald. Carrie Austin is too sick to stand trial on charges that she took bribes in the form of home improvements including new kitchen cabinets and granite countertops from a developer and lied to federal agents, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

Federal prosecutors argued that former Ald. Carrie Austin would be able to stand trial as long as she was given additional medical care and breaks when necessary.

U.S. District Court Judge John F. Kness granted federal prosecutors’ request to hold an evidentiary hearing about whether the former alderperson is healthy enough to stand trial.

Federal prosecutors want the judge to hold an evidentiary hearing before deciding whether ex-Ald. Carrie Austin, 75, is too ill to stand trial.

The Chicago Board of Ethics fined indicted former Ald. Carrie Austin’s son, who works as an assistant commissioner in the Department of Streets and Sanitation, $7,000 on Monday for supervising his former sister-in-law for six years, in violation of the city’s governmental ethics ordinance.

U.S. District Court Judge John F. Kness ordered former Ald. Carrie Austin, 75, to undergo a physical examination by an expert doctor to determine whether she is too ill to stand trial, as her lawyers insist.

U.S. District Court Judge John Kness has yet to set a trial date for Austin, who pleaded not guilty after her June 2021 indictment. The hearing, which lasted less than 15 minutes, was the first time Austin has appeared in a federal courtroom since her indictment.

The board’s ruling could also complicate efforts to hold public officials or candidates responsible for other kinds of violations, unless the City Council acts to change the law, sources told WTTW News.

Former Ald. CarrieAustin is now receiving more than $9,500 per month in pension payments for the rest of her life, according to records obtained by WTTW News from the Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago. If Austin is convicted, she could lose her pension, since her conduct occurred as part of her official duties as an alderperson.

Ald. Carrie Austin, 73, who did not seek a seventh term on the Chicago City Council, stepped down the day after Chicago voters went to the polls to pick a new mayor and City Council. 

Surveillance conducted by FBI agents in recent weeks shows Austin is “not gravely ill,” but has a busy schedule and is “alert, lucid and responsive” and able to move about on her own without assistance, according to court records.

Ald. Ray Lopez drops out of the mayoral race, but not before launching another stinging attack on incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Our politics team weighs in on that story and more.

Austin, 73, pleaded not guilty to charges that she accepted bribes from a developer and lied to FBI agents. Indicted in July 2021, Austin has never appeared in person before Judge John Kness because of her ill health and restrictions put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19. 

Indicted Ald. Carrie Austin (34th Ward) collapsed during Wednesday’s City Council meeting and was treated by former firefighter Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41st Ward) before reviving and being taken out of the Council Chambers on a stretcher.

Ald. Carrie Austin’s resignation as chair of the City Council’s Committee on Contracting and Oversight Equity comes nine days after WTTW News reported that the committee spent more in 2020 than nearly all other City Council committees while meeting only three times.