Former Chicago Ald. Ed Burke makes his way through security at the Dirksen Courthouse on Nov. 6, 2023. (WTTW News)
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The racketeering trial of former Ald. Ed Burke is on hold for at least a week after an attorney in the case tested positive for COVID-19, the judge in the case said Thursday.

Former Ald. Ed Burke and his legal team in federal court before U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Kendall on Nov. 6, 2023. (WTTW News)
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The selection process, which began slowly Monday morning, has continued at a leisurely pace throughout Tuesday. No jurors have yet been officially seated to hear the case.

The trial of former Chicago Ald. Ed Burke, pictured in a courtroom sketch, began on Nov. 6, 2023. (WTTW News)
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Former Ald. Ed Burke entered the Dirksen United States Courthouse for the first time since June 2019 accompanied by his wife, former Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Ann Burke, and a phalanx of attorneys.

In this courtroom sketch, Ald. Ed Burke, left, appears before U.S. Federal Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole with his attorneys on Tuesday, June 4, 2019. (Credit: Tom Gianni)
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Former Ald. Ed Burke, once the most powerful member of the City Council, is scheduled to go on trial starting on Monday at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on 14 charges of bribery, extortion and racketeering — charges that are usually brought against members of the mob or street gangs.

The Dirksen Courthouse is pictured in Chicago. (Capitol News Illinois)

Charles Cui filed a renewed motion to sever Friday in which he claimed that jurors could become “confused” and consider Cui to have been part of a conspiracy that is only alleged to have involved Burke and co-defendant Peter Andrews.

(WTTW News)
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During an April 2022 court hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu called Solis one of the most significant government informants and witnesses of the last several decades. But prosecutors do not plan to call him during the trial of former Ald. Ed Burke, set to start Nov. 6.

(WTTW News)

Former Ald. Ed Burke will start receiving pension payments of $8,027 per month in August, and they will continue for the rest of his life, according to records obtained by WTTW News from the Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago.

U.S. Attorney John Lausch appears on “Chicago Tonight” on Dec. 8, 2022. (WTTW News)

During his time as U.S. Attorney, Lausch oversaw numerous high-profile investigations in Chicago, among them, the indictments of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan on racketeering and bribery charges and longtime Chicago Ald. Ed. Burke.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot declined to address the City Council on April 19, 2023, at her last meeting as mayor. (WTTW News)

Mayor Lori Lightfoot declined to address the City Council at her last meeting as mayor, passing up the chance to begin shaping her legacy as the city’s leader during four of the most tumultuous years in Chicago history.

(WTTW News)
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Ald. Ed Burke, 79, is likely to complete his 54 years as a City Council member without any of the pomp and circumstance that once would have greeted his departure from his beloved City Hall, which he ruled with an iron fist for decades.

(WTTW News)

For 54 years, the 14th Ward was represented by the now-indicted Ald. Ed Burke. Jeylú Gutiérrez said she was inspired to run for office when she saw her ward lacked for city services.

U.S. Attorney John Lausch appears on “Chicago Tonight” on Dec. 8, 2022. (WTTW News)

John Lausch, who has served as U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Illinois since 2017, is planning to leave the office in “early 2023,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced during an unrelated press conference Thursday.

U.S. Attorney John Lausch appears on “Chicago Tonight” on Dec. 8, 2022. (WTTW News)

John Lausch, who has served as U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Illinois since 2017, is planning to leave the office in “early 2023,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced during an unrelated press conference Thursday.

U.S. Attorney John Lausch appears on “Chicago Tonight” on Dec. 8, 2022. (WTTW News)

U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch on the high-profile cases his office is currently working through. 

(WTTW News)

Proposed changes to the controversial SAFE-T Act that ends cash bail in Illinois. Our politics team weighs in on that story and more.

Ald. Ed Burke is pictured in a file photo. (WTTW News)
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Burke, 78, faces a November 2023 trial on racketeering, bribery and extortion charges centered on allegations that he repeatedly — and brazenly — used his powerful position at City Hall to force those doing business with the city to hire his private law firm.