A year before trial, racketeering case against Ald. Edward Burke gets new judge

A little more than a year before a scheduled jury trial, the federal racketeering case against Chicago Ald. Edward Burke has been reassigned to a new judge.

U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall will be taking over the hot-button case after the previous judge, Robert Dow, announced last week he’s leaving the federal bench to serve as counselor to U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, according to a court order docketed on Tuesday.

It’s unclear what, if any, impact Dow’s departure could have on Burke’s case. Earlier this year, he denied pretrial motions by Burke and his two co-defendants, clearing that case for trial in November 2023 after years of pandemic-related delays. A status hearing in the case is currently set for Dec. 12.

Kendall, a President George W. Bush nominee who has been on the bench since 2006, is a former federal prosecutor and experienced jurist who’s handled many complex cases before, so it would seem she has more than enough time to get up to speed on the Burke case over the next 13 months.

With cases still backed up at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse due to the pandemic, defendants who are in custody — unlike in Burke’s case — have generally been given preference when it comes to scheduling.

Burke, 78, the city’s longest-serving alderman, was originally charged in a criminal complaint in January 2019. He was indicted four months later on 14 counts including racketeering, federal program bribery, attempted extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion and using interstate commerce to facilitate an unlawful activity.

The 59-page indictment outlined a series of schemes in which Burke allegedly tried to muscle developers into hiring his law firm, Klafter & Burke, to appeal their property taxes. Among the projects Burke tried to capitalize on was the massive $800 million renovation of the Old Post Office in the West Loop, according to the charges.

Also charged was Burke’s longtime aide, Peter Andrews, who was accused of assisting the alderman in attempting to shake down two business owners seeking to renovate a Burger King restaurant in the 14th Ward.

The indictment also accused developer Charles Cui of hiring Burke’s law firm in exchange for the alderman’s help with a sign permit and financing deal for a project in the Portage Park neighborhood.

All three have pleaded not guilty.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com