CHICAGO (WLS) — Convicted former Alderman Ed Burke was released from federal prison on Tuesday after serving less than 10 months behind bars.
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Burke was convicted on 13 felony counts including racketeering extortion and bribery. He was sentenced to two years in prison.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed to ABC7 that Burke was released from prison.
Anne Burke confirmed to ABC7 that her husband was dropped off at the Salvation Army halfway house around noon.
She said they celebrated on the drive back to Chicago by getting milkshakes.
It’s unclear how long he’ll be at the halfway house; experts say they expect his stay to be short.
Burke’s wife declined to speak on camera but later told ABC7 off camera that she and her husband only learned on Monday night of his scheduled release.
The once-powerful alderman traded in his famous pinstriped suits for a khaki prison jumpsuit last September.
He was sentenced to serve two years behind bars, and in the federal system inmates typically serve 85% of their sentence, which would have been 20 months.
But for undisclosed reasons the Bureau of Prisons released Burke from the Thomson Correctional Center in western Illinois earlier.
One former federal prosecutor said Burke’s early release could be the result of federal prison reform legislation that factors in age and risk of recidivism.
“They are considered low risk offenders,” former federal prosecutor Kalia Coleman said. “So, there’s this idea that these types of individuals, we want to give them a second chance or an opportunity to reintegrate into society.”
In December of 2023, Burke was found guilty by a federal jury on 13 of 14 counts of racketeering, bribery, and extortion, for abusing his position as the powerful chairman of the zoning to shake down businesses and line his own pocket.
During his sentencing, the judge reviewed hundreds of letters written on Burke’s behalf.
RELATED: Former Chicago Ald. Ed Burke requests to have federal sentence commuted for corruption convictions
Prosecutors asked the judge to send a message with the sentence that corruption does not pay.
The Bureau of Prisons releasing a statement confirming Burke has been released to community confinement, adding: “Community confinement means the individual is in either home confinement or a Residential Reentry Center (RRC, or halfway house).”
“With respect to him serving his sentence, this isn’t a situation,” Coleman said. “If you know he’s released that he’s going to be able to be freed about in society, he still will have very strict conditions that he will be under. He would just be serving his sentence in his home.”
Burke’s term of supervised release, according to the Bureau of Prisons is set to end around February 20, 2026.
SEE ALSO: Ed Burke, Chicago’s longest-serving alderman, reports to prison to serve sentence
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