Ald. Danny Solis, 25th Ward, appears on “Chicago Tonight” on Nov. 26, 2018.
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Federal prosecutors disclosed in a motion Monday that they do indeed plan to call Solis as a witness, marking a shift in strategy after they opted against calling him last year to testify against his former colleague, longtime 14th Ward Ald. Ed Burke.

Former Ald. Carrie Austin (34th Ward) leaves the Dirksen Federal Courthouse on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. (WTTW News)

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.

A sign marks he Paul Powell Home and Museum, Oct. 8, 2020 photo in Vienna, Ill. For more than half a century, a Powell-established $250,000 trust sustained his legacy, for better or worse. But the account that maintained his birthplace as a museum will soon run dry. (AP Photo / John O’Connor, File)

For more than half a century, a Powell-established $250,000 trust sustained his legacy, for better or worse. But the account that maintained his birthplace as a museum will soon run dry. The fate of the home in Vienna, a town of 1,300 about 140 miles southeast of St. Louis, is uncertain. 

(WTTW News)
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Judge Virginia Kendall initially set his sentencing date for June 19 — which is also the Juneteenth holiday — but on Friday she pushed that date back to June 24.

Former Ald. Ed Burke in federal court before U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Kendall on Dec. 5, 2023. (WTTW News)
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“I’d like to think it will serve as a deterrent,” Elmhurst University professor Constance Mixon said. “But none of the other 37 convictions served as a deterrent. It ought to make people think twice. But I don’t know. I’d like to be optimistic.”

Former Ald. Ed Burke is pictured in a file photo. (WTTW News)
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When former Chicago alderperson Ed Burke was convicted on racketeering, bribery and extortion charges, he became the latest Illinois politician and powerbroker to face accusations of corruption — but he’s far from the first in recent years.

Former Chicago Ald. Ed Burke makes his way through security at the Dirksen Courthouse on Nov. 6, 2023. (WTTW News)

Former Ald. Ed Burke (14th Ward) was convicted Thursday of 13 of 14 counts of racketeering, bribery and extortion, bringing his landmark corruption trial to an end with a verdict that delivered a searing indictment of Chicago’s political system, which Burke used to amass power for half a century.

Lawyers and defendants in the Ed Burke trial appear before Judge Virginia Kendall on Nov. 30, 2023. (WTTW News)
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The jury asked two questions on Tuesday and none on Wednesday. In all, they have deliberated for approximately 18 hours across three days and are set to resume Thursday morning.

Former Ald. Ed Burke and his legal team in federal court before U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Kendall on Dec. 11, 2023. (WTTW News)
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The first communication from the jury came approximately an hour into deliberations on Tuesday and focused on one of the charges facing one of Ed Burke’s codefendants, businessman Charles Cui.

Michael Madigan, file photo (WTTW News)
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The defense teams for Michael Madigan and co-defendant Michael McClain are seeking to strike their upcoming trial date and delay all proceedings until the U.S. Supreme Court issues a ruling in a case that could rewrite the federal bribery statute.

Former Ald. Ed Burke in federal court before U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Kendall on Dec. 5, 2023. (WTTW News)
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Deliberations began Monday afternoon after U.S. District Court Judge Virgina Kendall spent more than three hours reading more than 300 pages of jury instructions.

Lawyers and defendants in the Ed Burke trial appear before Judge Virgina Kendall on Nov. 30, 2023. (WTTW News)
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By contrast, Burke’s attorney portrayed the former alderperson as a “good man” and a dedicated public servant who relished his ability to move the city’s bureaucracy and “thrived on connecting the right people.”

Former Ald. Ed Burke (right) watches former Ald. Danny Solis (left) testify in federal court on Dec. 12, 2023. (WTTW News)

Burke’s defense calls the government’s case ‘a bunch of noise’

Closing arguments continued Thursday in the high-profile corruption case of the longtime 14th Ward alderperson and Finance Committee chair, with prosecutors zeroing in on perhaps the most elaborate of four criminal schemes Burke is charged with.

Former Ald. Ed Burke observes testimony about Chicago’s 14th Ward, which he represented for 54 years, during a federal trial on Nov. 17, 2023. (WTTW News)
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Closing arguments began Wednesday, more than a month after proceedings began in Ed Burke’s landmark corruption case. Prosecutors painted the longtime 14th Ward alderperson as a “powerful and corrupt” politician who was motivated by greed to “get what he wanted for himself.”

Former Ald. Ed Burke (right) watches former Ald. Danny Solis (left) testify in federal court on Dec. 12, 2023. (WTTW News)

As disgraced former Ald. Danny Solis (25th Ward) took the stand Tuesday afternoon in the landmark corruption trial of his former friend and colleague, who ruled City Hall with an iron fist for decades, Burke’s squad of attorneys will now get their chance to make their case that he is not a criminal, but an “old school, hardworking public servant.” 

Former Ald. Ed Burke and his legal team in federal court before U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Kendall on Dec. 11, 2023. (WTTW News)
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Prosecutors are expected to rest their case-in-chief on Tuesday, setting the stage for disgraced former Ald. Danny Solis (25th Ward) to be called to the stand to testify in the landmark corruption trial of his former friend and colleague.