Ed and Anne Burke - the alderman and the state supreme court justice - have been tied to a developer who was indicted along with Ald. Ike Carothers in May.
"A developer now at the center of a City Hall bribery scandal hosted a political fundraiser for Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke in his home, just months before receiving crucial support for his real estate project from her husband, Ald. Edward Burke," the Tribune reports.
"Both Burkes got campaign donations from developer Calvin Boender while Boender was pushing to build a $35 million condo and restaurant project on a blighted stretch of Cicero Avenue near Midway Airport.
"Several months after the March 2007 fundraiser for his wife and weeks after receiving his $1,500 campaign donation, Edward Burke (14th) gave his all-important backing for Boender's project in his Southwest Side ward."
A spokesperson for Anne Burke said she was unaware of Boender's business before the council and has given his donations to charity. Ed Burke refused to answer the Tribune's questions.
In May, the Tribune described the case against Boender and Carothers this way:
"A local developer who needed zoning changes to clear the way for a lucrative project on one of the city's largest pieces of undeveloped land took the age-old Chicago approach: bribing an alderman, authorities say."
The Trib reports this morning that "Boender, his wife and nearly 20 others with business ties to him contributed more than $60,000 to Anne Burke's judicial race, according to state campaign records. Boender also provided $3,000 in food and drinks."
U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez has also been linked to Boender; Boender once loaned $200,000 to Gutierrez - so Gutierrez could buy a lot from Boender, prompting John Kass to label the congressman's affiliation as "(D-Boender)."
As a federal investigation into zoning in Chicago continues, we're likely to hear much more about Boender and his pol pals.
Steve Rhodes is the proprietor of The Beachwood Reporter, a Chicago-centric news and culture review.
