Ed Burke Trial: Defense responds to prosecutors' case against former Chicago alderman
CHICAGO (CBS) – The corruption trial of former Chicago Ald. Ed Burke is just days from the start of jury deliberation.
Both prosecutors and defense attorneys presented their closing arguments on Thursday. CBS 2 Political Reporter Chris Tye has been in court since the start of the trial.
Burke's lead attorney zoomed out in a very long and detailed case for the jury after weeks of testimony, and dozens of witnesses. They framed the prosecutors' case as "murky."
"This is the most serious thing you're asked to do in your lifetime," attorney Joe Duffy told jurors.
He added, "50 years on the job, [Burke] knows how to cut through red tape. That's why people come to him. He can get it done.
"Is he really going to spend 50 years in power, then become corrupt and not make a penny? We don't convict people for colorful language. We don't convict people for angry telephone calls … That is not a crime."
Federal prosecutors presented their closing arguments for six hours over two days.
In an effort to bring home the accusation that Burke traded political help for lucrative tax law work, the prosecution played the moments they wanted the jury to think about as they begin deliberations. That included a meeting inside City Hall that was secretly recorded, during which Burke pitched his political help and law firm to the developer of the Old Post Office.
"We made his daughter a judge here in, in Cook County," Burke is heard saying in a recording, "and one of his other daughters went to high school with my daughter, Sarah. So we're family, personal friends."
Federal prosecutor Dianne MacArthur framed the meeting between Burke and the post office developer Harry Skydell as "a masterclass in Mr. Burke using and exerting his power. This meeting is taking place in City Hall, not at Klafter and Burke, in City Hall. This is the use of the trappings of government to try and convince someone to become a client of his law firm."
Then, there was one of the most quoted lines of the trial when Burke asked FBI mole and former Ald. Danny Solis if the developer had signed on with his law firm.
Burke: Did we land the tuna?"
Solis: "Well, almost. I pushed that we're not very motivated."
Burke: "If we land the tuna, there certainly will be a day of accounting. You can count on that."
On that point, MacArthur told the jury in her closing, "That's a financial tuna that he's referring to, Burke seeking to land a financial tuna for himself and his firm."
Burke's lawyers attempted to discredit Solis and told jurors to ask themselves why prosecutors didn't call him to the stand. They argued no one needed Burke more than Solis, who used him to get out of his own legal mess.
Closing arguments were expected to wrap up on Friday. The jury is likely to receive instruction on Monday and begin deliberations late Monday or Tuesday.
Burke and his two co-defendants all pleaded not guilty.
