The Mayoral Debate: Could Rahm Emanuel Take On Ed Burke?
So apparently the big news from last night's WTTW debate (being a hopeless romantic, I was having Italian food with my wife) was that Rahm Emanuel said he'd send Ed Burke's bodyguards to a fish take away the longtime alderman's security detail and maybe his powerful finance committee chairmanship, though the latter seems to be close reading.
This has generated some glee among the political-nerd regulars in the Capitol Fax comment section. But don't hold your breath.
Longtime Hyde Parker Don Rose, meanwhile, served as press secretary for King when the civil rights leader brought the movement to Chicago in 1965 and 1966, and he also advised independent political candidates. In 1979 Rose orchestrated Jane Byrne's stunning triumph over Mayor Michael Bilandic and what was left of the first Daley machine. During the campaign, Rose encouraged Byrne to rail against aldermen Eddie Vrdolyak and Ed Burke, calling them an "evil cabal." Unfortunately, once in office Byrne cut a deal with them, allowing Vrdolyak to remain chairman of the important building and zoning committee and Burke to keep chairing the police committee.
--"An Island in the Swamp," Ben Joravsky, Chicago Reader, 3/4/10
[Harold] Washington narrowly defeated Epton, but even then the fight wasn't over. Alderman Edward Vrdolyak put together a coalition of 29 aldermen (28 white, one Puerto Rican) who battled Washington every step of the way for the first four years of his reign. If Washington said the sky was blue, Vrdolyak and his loyal sidekick, Alderman Ed Burke (yes, the same Ed Burke who represents the 14th Ward today), said it was gray. They blocked his appointments to top city posts, ignored legislation he introduced, and even accused him of prejudice when he had the nerve to provide black and Latino neighborhoods with their fair share of services and investment.
--"Harold and the Hyneses," Ben Joravsky, Chicago Reader, 2/4/10
"He's probably the most able leader of the City Council just in pure smarts and understanding of the legislation since Tom Keane, who was floor leader under Mayor Richard J. Daley--until [Keane] went to jail for corruption," says Dick Simpson, a political science professor at University of Illinois at Chicago, former alderman of the 44th Ward and author of Rogues, Rebels and Rubber Stamps: The Politics of the Chicago City Council from 1863 to the Present.
--"The Private Public Life of Ed Burke," Jessica Curry, Chicago Life, 8/1/05
Although he once was an ally of former Mayor Jane Byrne---a foe of current Mayor Richard Daley---Burke has managed to survive and thrive during Daley’s long reign.
--"City Council offers to tribute to Ald. Ed Burke for 40 years of service," Hal Dardick, Chicago Tribune, 3/18/09
If Emanuel really does decide to take Burke on, it will be absolutely fascinating.
Coda: I thoroughly enjoyed the 50 Alderman, 50 Artists show back in 2010 (full disclosure: it was co-organized by a friend and former colleague), but my favorite piece was the photo of Ed Burke. He's a powerful man--the longest-serving alderman, the son of a committeeman-turned-alderman, the husband of a state supreme court justice--and Jennifer Greenburg's photo of Burke is a subtly wonderful portrait of old-school power.
(H/t to Capitol Fax commenter wordslinger for the inspiration to go hunting.)
Update: Worth re-reading: Carol Marin's December column about the 1980 mayoral race and how Rahm Emanuel : Richard Daley :: Gery Chico : Ed Burke.
E-Mail
Print
Comments to this blog are moderated. We review them in an effort to remove foul language, commercial messages, and irrelevancies.
THERE WAS RECENT HOOPLA ON A CHICAGO POLICE BLOG, YES...A DIRTY
NAME--a completely ANONYMOUS BLOGGER.... BUT NOT A PORN SITE, A BLOG
THAT TELLS THE TRUTH ABOUT CRIME IN THE CITY AND CORRUPTION IN LOCAL
POLITICS. WWW.SHAVEDLONGCOCK.BLOGSPOT.COM
THIS ARTICLE CATAPULTED THE SITE, GAINING NATIONAL NOTORIETY OVER
COVERAGE CHICAGO CITY STICKER DESIGNED WITH GANG REPRESENTATION IN
IT, WITH THE WINNING SCHOOL CHILD BEING A MEMBER OF A GANG, HIS FATHER
WANTED BY INTERPOL, ETC. DUE TO THIS UNBELIEVABLE VISITATION TO THE
BLOG, OTHER ITEMS WERE VIEWED BY MILLIONS, NAMELY, A REFERENCE TO
ALDERMAN ED BURKE, HIS IL SUPREME COURT JUDGE WIFE, ANNE BURKE, AND
CIRCUIT CHANCERY COURT JUDGE MICHAEL B HYMAN. JUDGE HYMAN WAS GIVEN OVER $23,500 IN funds from Burke. Hyman also hired Gang Leader Gator Bradley to get out the black vote as well.
THE ENTIRE BLOG WAS HACKED AND 5 YEARS OF POSTS DISAPEARED.
HOWEVER, WHEN YOU DID A SEARCH ON GOOGLE IE: ED BURKE, JUDGE
HYMAN.....YOU GOT SEARCH RESULTS WITH THE SHAVEDLONGCOCK ARTICLE WITH
BURKE AND HYMAN REFERENCED, APPEARING RIGHT AT THE TOP OF THE SEARCH.
NOW, IF YOU PUT ED BURKE, JUDGE HYMAN, YOU GET NOTHING. THERE ARE
NONSENSE SEARCH RESULTS, AND THE SHAVED LONGCOCK ARTICLE REFERENCE IS
LONG GONE.
THIS ALSO LINKED TO THE BREITBART.COM ARTICLES BY JAMES PETERSON ABOUT ED BURKE.
I BELIEVE THIS INFORMATION TO SHED LIGHT ON THIS UNTOUCHABLE AND
CORRUPT POLITICIAN EDWARD BURKE. IT LINKS SERIOUS DONATION TO A
SITTING JUDGE, WHO HAS MADE JUDGEMENTS ON CASES THAT GO COMEPLETELY
AGAINST CASE LAW, IN FAVOR OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO DEPT OF
FINANCE....NAMELY...ED BURKE THE CHAIRMAN. THE RECENT LAWSUIT BY THE
FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE AGAINST THE CITY OF CHICAGO AND SUN TIMES
FOR RELEASING LINEUP PHOTOS AND NAMES OF POLICEMENT WAS RECENTLY
THROWN OUT. THERE IS A HISTORY OF CASES THROWN OUT BY THIS JUDGE WHEN
THE CASES HAD COMPLETE MERIT, BUT THERE IS NO WHERE TO GO CONSIDERING
ED BURKE "OWNS" THE ILLINOIS JUDICIAL SYSTEM.
PERHAPS YOU CAN REVIVE THE 2008 STORIES AND MAKE A DENT IN THIS YEARS
ELECTION IN CHICAGO AND PUT A DENT IN THE ED BURKE CORRUPT POLITICAL
MACHINE BEFORE THIS ELECTION TAKES PLACE. CONSERVATIVE BLOGS ARE THE
ONLY POSSIBLE OUTLET, AND THEY ARE SILENCING THEM NOW.
HE IS UNTOUCHABLE. HE DOES HAVE ABSOLUTE POWER, AND MONEY.
IF YOU CHECK THE DONATIONS FROM BURKES NOW $11 MILLION WARCHEST, YOU
WILL SEE WHAT OTHER JUDGES AND AND POLITICIANS ARE IN THE "CIRCLE OF
CHICAGO CORRUPTION..." THE STATE OF ILLINOIS HAS MADE IT EXTREMELY
DIFFICULT TO TRACK ON ITS ELECTION CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION LINK, BUT IT
IS POSSIBLE. HIS WIFE , ANNE BURKE HAS 3 SEPARATE LISTINGS.
THANK YOU.
original posting......within coment....linking burke to hyman
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:JZI36Hah-swJ:shavedlongcock.blogspot.com/2012/02/chicago-police-officers-sue-sun-times.html+ED+BURKE+JUDGE+HYMAN&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
FOLLOW THE MONEY...OVER 23K TO JUDGE HYMAN FROM ALDERMAN ED BURKE &
ANNE BURKE, JUDGE HYMAN IS IN HIS POCKET FOR ANY LAWSUIT AGAINST THE
CITY
http://www.elections.state.il.us/CampaignDisclosure/A1List.aspx?ID=20684&FiledDocID=358369&ContributionType=AllTypes&Archived=True
http://sites.google.com/site/housedick/
http://biggovernment.com/jpeterson/2010/04/08/alderman-edward-burke-top-machine-boss-of-obamas-chicago-where-barack-learned-chicago-style-politics-part-1/
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:a5VBRFM5T7sJ:biggovernment.com/jpeterson/2010/04/12/alderman-edward-burke-top-machine-boss-of-obamas-chicago-where-barack-learned-chicago-style-politics/+cook+county+judge+favors+burke+cases&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
JUDGE BOUGHT AND PAID FOR BY CITY (ALDERMAN ED BURKE......ARE YOU
NAIVELY SHOCKED AT THIS? HOW LONG IS THIS ASSHOLE GOING TO BE
"UNTOUCHABLE?"
http://www.elections.state.il.us/CampaignDisclosure/A1List.aspx?ID=20684&FiledDocID=358369&ContributionType=AllTypes&Archived=True
http://sites.google.com/site/housedick/
http://biggovernment.com/jpeterson/2010/04/08/alderman-edward-burke-top-machine-boss-of-obamas-chicago-where-barack-learned-chicago-style-politics-part-1/
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:a5VBRFM5T7sJ:biggovernment.com/jpeterson/2010/04/12/alderman-edward-burke-top-machine-boss-of-obamas-chicago-where-barack-learned-chicago-style-politics/+cook+county+judge+favors+burke+cases&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
ME THINKS DETECTIVE SHAVED IS A DAY LATE AND A DOLLAR SHORT ON THIS ONE.
THE LAST LINE OF THE ARTICLE STATES " A Cook County circuit judge
denied the request and the case was dismissed last month."
THIS COOK COUNTY JUDGE WAS JUDGE MICHAEL B HYMAN.....
THIS JUDGE WAS GIVEN OVER $23,000 BY ALDERMAN ED BURKE AND HIS WIFE
ANNE BURKE FOR HIS ELECTION TO THE CIRCUIT COURT.
http://www.elections.state.il.us/CampaignDisclosure/A1List.aspx?ID=20684&FiledDocID=358369&ContributionType=AllTypes
THE DEFENDANT IN THIS CASE IS THE CITY OF CHICAGO, DEPT. OF FINANCE....
HENSE.....ALDERMAN EDWARD BURKE.
THIS CASE COULD NOT WIN.....ANYONE AGAINST THE ALMIGHTY AND
UNTOUCHABLE ED BURKE IN THIS COURTROOM WILL BE THROWN OUT.
TO READ MORE HOW UNTOUCHABLE ED BURKE IS TO THE HIGHEST LEVEL, CHECK
OUT THE FOLLOWING:
http://sites.google.com/site/housedick/
http://biggovernment.com/jpeterson/2010/04/08/alderman-edward-burke-top-machine-boss-of-obamas-chicago-where-barack-learned-chicago-style-politics-part-1
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:a5VBRFM5T7sJ:biggovernment.com/jpeterson/2010/04/12/alderman-edward-burke-top-machine-boss-of-obamas-chicago-where-barack-learned-chicago-style-politics/+cook+county+judge+favors+burke+cases&cd=6&