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It's unclear whether Catholic figures appealing for leniency in letters to the judge affected the two-year sentence given to Burke. But priests, nuns and lay church leaders went to bat heavy for him — after years of the ex-alderman funneling campaign cash to Catholic causes.
A defense attorney predicted one of Chicago's high-stakes public corruption cases, the ComEd bribery case, will get a new trial. Michael Madigan’s trial is set for October but could be delayed.
U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall seemed affected by the hundreds of letters written by Burke’s supporters. “I have never in all my career seen the letters that I have received for Mr. Burke.”
Many current and former City Council members said U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall's sentence struck the appropriate balance between discouraging political corruption and showing the mercy they believed Burke had earned from his many acts of kindness.