Daywatch: Ed Burke’s trial finding its place in Chicago lore
Good morning, Chicago.
The federal racketeering case against Ed Burke is pure Chicago.
At its core, the Burke trial, which just wrapped its third week, is about a series of alleged shakedowns by the longest-serving alderman in City Council history — a potential highlight reel for the sordid legacy of City Hall.
The former 14th Ward alderman is not accused of taking bribe money in an envelope, in a brown paper bag or slapped directly into an outstretched hand.
That cold cash approach may have been a little too ordinary for Burke, an old-school Democrat whose extraordinary clout is as much on trial as he is for the 14 charges he faces. It’s a case expected to stretch well past the fifth anniversary of the Nov. 29, 2018, FBI raid of the alderman’s City Hall offices.
Even Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Chapman suggested in opening statements that Burke’s style was less greasy palm and a bit more “sophisticated.”
Burke himself may have inadvertently labeled the alleged take from his political style as “the tuna,” as in, “So did we land the, uh, the tuna?” A secret FBI recording caught that phrase in one the alleged shakedowns, and it is fast becoming part of Chicago’s political lexicon.
Read more on this story from Ray Long, Megan Crepeau and Jason Meisner.
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Pritzker administration sought migrant tent camp proposals before Mayor Brandon Johnson took office, records show
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s recent announcement that the state would spend $65 million to help Chicago set up a tent encampment for migrants before winter sets in came less than two months after the second-term Democrat tried to distance himself from the concept when it was unveiled by Mayor Brandon Johnson.
But state documents indicate the concept for housing migrants in tents took shape not at City Hall but within Pritzker’s own administration.
‘I can’t do a lot of things, but I can do this’: How one Chicagoan is stepping up for migrant children with disabilities
Keinymar Avila, a tiny 7-year-old with microcephaly who has never been separated from her mother, curled up in the arms of a woman she’d recently met.
Her mother, Yamile Perez, glanced over at her daughter to make sure all was well as she attended a virtual meeting with Chicago Public Schools officials who were evaluating Keinymar’s needs. It is not easy to let someone else hold your child, especially if your child requires special medical care.
No one knows this better than the person cradling the girl, Mary Otts-Rubenstein, a Lakeview resident who has her own child with disabilities. Otts-Rubenstein has taken it upon herself to help over a dozen migrant families with medically complex kids enroll in CPS.
At West Ridge tutoring center, multilingual refugees given safe space to learn with help from college students
Ten-year-old Lana Azizieh, a fifth grader at Clinton Elementary School, said that before she came to the United States two years ago, she didn’t know English.
“Now I’m really good at English,” she said, noting that she loves math, but not so much reading. “I like to read graphic novels, but mostly I’m not reading graphic novels (in school) so there are just words, words, words. I get tired of reading.”
Azizieh, a refugee from Syria, is one of 103 students receiving tutoring from Forging Opportunities for Refugees in America (FORA), the West Ridge education center dedicated to helping refugee children arriving in Chicago.
In 1st trial of its kind in the U.S., Irish startup spreads concrete dust on Illinois farm field to remove CO2 from the air
A corn and soybean farm in the village of Buckingham, 60 miles south of Chicago, is providing the testing grounds for an Irish startup attempting to “enhance” weathering, thus shortening the process from millenniums to decades.
The Illinois trial, the first of its kind in the United States, is one of many efforts to leverage the potential of different materials to combat global warming.
‘One win, one loss’: 4 takeaways as the Chicago Blackhawks fail again to get consecutive wins
The Chicago Blackhawks’ seesaw season continued with a 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Sunday, and at least one Hawk is ready to walk the plank.
“We’re just one win, one loss, one win, one loss — it’s a frustrating road to be on,” Nick Foligno said, referring to the loss following Friday’s 4-3 upset of the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime. “But we have to understand why we’re in it.”
19 Hanukkah specials in Chicago with braised brisket and heaps of challah
Hanukkah is called the Jewish festival of lights for its nightly candle lightings, but it’s also a beloved holiday with delicious fried foods and chocolate coins that can be eaten or used for gambling.
There are also plenty of places offering specials for dine-in and other holiday fun like festively decorated cookies and themed cocktails. Dust off your menorah and check out this guide to 19 places to celebrate Hanukkah.
