Chicago’s Feb. 26 nonpartisan mayoral primary is less than two months away, and the city’s biggest political headlines are being dominated by the indictment of Alderman Ed Burke, a powerful member of the Chicago City Council who has served on the body since 1969. Burke’s offices were raided twice by the FBI last year, and on Thursday, Burke, who has an astounding $12 million spread across his campaign committees, was charged with using his position to try to extort business in order to benefit his tax law firm. It’s unclear what impact this story will have on the race to succeed Mayor Rahm Emanuel, but so far, it looks like Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle may have the most to lose from all this.
Burke’s indictment alleged that he had pressured the owner of a Burger King franchise to donate $10,000 to a candidate, and Preckwinkle’s campaign quickly acknowledged she was the recipient. Preckwinkle has denied any knowledge of Burke’s activities and she has not been accused of any wrongdoing, and she says she automatically returned the donation because it exceeded campaign finance limits.
Last month, after Burke’s office was raided, Preckwinkle returned about $13,000 he had donated to her over the years. However, it was only Sunday that she returned $116,000 that she had raised at a fundraiser at Burke’s home last year for her re-election campaign. Preckwinkle has also argued that, despite this fundraiser, she’s had "little contact and no relationship with the alderman," saying that the event had instead been arranged through his wife, Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke. The Chicago Tribune also reported last week that in 2014, Preckwinkle put Burke’s son on the county payroll with a six-figure salary.
Preckwinkle has also voiced frustration with how much scrutiny she’s getting since she’s far from the only mayoral candidate who has ties to Ed Burke. Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, who is arguably the co-frontrunner in this race along with Preckwinkle, donated $10,000 in contributions from Burke last year after the FBI first raided his office. Mendoza has also called him a mentor, and she was married at his home; Justice Burke presided over the ceremony, and Alderman Burke played the piano.
Another mayoral candidate, former Chicago Board of Education President Gery Chico, got his start in politics back in 1983 working for Burke, and the alderman endorsed his campaign back in October. Chico, who once called Burke “a friend and supporter for decades” accepted the nod at the time, but he now says he will no longer “accept support” from him.
Former White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley, a son and brother of Chicago’s two longest-serving mayors, has known Burke for decades, and the Tribune wrote that Burke has donated at least $30,000 to the family’s political accounts over the years. However, Daley did publicly call for Burke to retire back in October before federal agents showed up at the alderman’s office.
Meanwhile, Preckwinkle’s allies at the Chicago Teachers Union are out with a mid-December poll from Lake Research Partners that gives their candidate the edge in next month’s primary with 18 percent of the vote. Mendoza edges Daley 12-10 for the second place spot in an April runoff, while public policy consultant Amara Enyia and former Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy each are just behind with 7.
This week, Mendoza also picked up an endorsement from the Laborers' International Union of North America, which Politico characterized as one of the city’s largest unions.