Slow going in second day of jury selection for Ald. Ed Burke's trial
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Jury selection continued for a second day Tuesday in the racketeering and bribery trial of former Chicago Ald. Ed Burke (14th).
Burke was the longest-serving and once the most powerful member of the City Council. He stepped away from politics last year after 54 years representing his Southwest Side ward.
He stands accused of trading political favors for lucrative business contracts for his law firm. The case dates back to 2018. Back in 2019, Burke said he was innocent of all charges.
There are two other defendants in the case – Peter Andrews, a former political aide to Burke; and Charles Cui, a Chicago developer.
Twelve jurors will ultimately be seated, and six alternates will also be selected. As CBS 2 Political Reporter Chris Tye reported, the process is slow-going.
As of late Tuesday, the judge and attorneys from both sides – including defense attorneys for all three defendants – had interviewed 37 prospective jurors in the voir dire process. Of the 37 so far, 11 have been removed for cause – while one is "under advisement" to see if a prior child pornography conviction renders him ineligible.
The thought is about 44 or 45 prospective jurors must be questioned before they feel they have a safe number – and then each side would go through and strike prospective jurors until finally getting down to 12 jurors and six alternates.
It is expected that at least another day is needed for the process.
The prospective jurors are from the top northern 18 counties in Illinois – as far west as Joe Daviess County, where Galena is located. Some people have had to drive two hours or more to get to federal court every day.
Many other prospective jurors are from Chicago and have talked about their familiarity with Burke and how the news media coverage has made it into their world. The judge told prospective jurors to stop such conversation moving forward.
One prospective juror Tuesday, a woman from Hinsdale, was neighbors with the son of former Ald. Ed Vrdolyak (10th), Burke's ally during Council Wars when Harold Washington was mayor. She asked whether it would pose a problem with her serving as an objective juror – she said it was not.
A prospective juror was also asked to play a word association game. When asked what word she thought of to associate with Chicago politics, she said, "Messy."
On Monday, defense attorneys asked to have a historical graphic installation in the hallway outside the courtroom taken down.
The installation on the 25th floor of the Dirksen Federal Courthouse is a series of depictions of Chicago's judicial history. One of the wall-sized posters goes through the history of corruption – political endeavors in Chicago that have led to federal charges. It features pictures of such figures as former Govs. George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich.
The judge did have the installations papered over after the defense expressed concern that the images might sway the jurors.
Meanwhile, there are dogs in the court. On Monday, two dogs emerged from behind the door to the judge's chambers. Junebug and Birdie are Burmese mountain dogs – they are therapy dogs that U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall brings in for witnesses that may have had a day of tough testimony. The dogs come in once the jury has left.
The gaggle attorneys also interact with the dogs – in a very unconventional scene in what is otherwise a very rigid courtroom.
The trial is expected to go on four to six weeks – though that obviously depends on how long jurors deliberate.