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CHICAGO (WLS) — Former Chicago Alderman Ed Burke was found guilty of racketeering in a federal corruption trial Thursday.
Burke was found guilty on count 1, involving the Post Office and Burger King incidents.
He was also found guilty of several other counts and not guilty of one.
The jury in Burke’s federal corruption trial reached a verdict Thursday afternoon.
The former Chicago alderman faced fourteen counts, including racketeering and extortion.
Burke and Pete Andrews are in the packed courtroom Thursday. Andrews was hospitalized for an unknown illness Tuesday. Andrews is co-defendant and a former 14th Ward aide for Ed Burke.
Andrews was found not guilty.
Charles Cui is present virtually because he is “ill.”
Cui was found guilty of all counts.
Burke’s wife, Anne, and their two daughters and some other family members are also present.
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The jury deliberated for 23 hours.
Judge Virgina Kendall’s courtroom was empty most of the day Wednesday while the jury of nine women and three men were behind closed doors, deliberating.
Legal experts have said the case is a complicated one to figure out because there are three defendants and a mountain of evidence. In addition, Burke faces racketeering charges, which former Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy DePodesta said could be the most challenging for jurors.
“The racketeering count is certainly a complicated charge, with many different facets to it for the jury to have to work its way through,” DePodesta said.
Long deliberations are normal for political corruption trials. The jury who convicted former Illinois Gov. George Ryan took 10 days to reach a verdict. Jurors deliberated for 14 days during former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s first trial and 10 days after he was tried again.
“Juries really do try to make a really good effort to go through the instructions that have been provided by the judge and apply the law to the evidence that has been presented,” DePodesta said.
The jury was given over 350 pages of jury instructions on Monday, along with evidence that includes close to 40 witnesses and over 100 recordings.
In all, there are 19 different counts that apply to Burke, Andrews and co-defendant Cui. Burke faces 14 of them.
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