Former Aldo.Edward Burke, whose federal racketeering trial begins next week, has transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars in “consulting” fees from campaign funds he controls to one of his co-defendants in recent years., Campaign records will be displayed.
Lawyers for former City Councilman Peter Andrews Jr., a longtime figure in the 14th Ward Democratic Party organization, said Burke's political funds were used to pay for Andrews' legal fees.
State law allows campaign funds to pay for litigation costs, but campaign finance experts told the Tribune that the funds were sent to another co-defendant, classified as “consulting,” and then used for litigation costs. He said the arrangement was unprecedented.
Andrews, 73, is accused of cooperating with Burke in an effort to sway business owners who wanted to renovate a Burger King in the 14th Ward. Burke faces additional charges as part of a larger federal case first filed in 2019, but both men have pleaded not guilty.
In some cases, money from Mr. Burke's political fund went directly to Andrews' criminal law firm, campaign finance records show. Campaign finance records show that from 2019 to 2022, the Friends of Edward M. Burke campaign paid more than $165,000 to the Blegen & Garvey firm, with the payments clearly listed in campaign records as legal fees. I was recording it. This company is now known as Blegen and Associates.
But since Mr. Burke's office was raided five years ago, the same campaign fund and another fund controlled by Mr. Burke have also provided $220,000 to Mr. Andrews for “consulting” listed in election records. Sending directly.
The $220,000 includes $30,000 from Burke's 14th District Ordinary Democratic Organizing Committee Fund, 16 $10,000 checks from friends of Edward M. Burke since August 2022, and 2019 It included six checks for $5,000 each from April 2022 to May 2022. , records showed.
Records show the most recent $10,000 check was delivered in September of this year.
None of these payments were specified as being legal costs.
Mr. Andrews' lead attorneys, Patrick Bregen and Todd Pugh, said Mr. Burke's campaign funds will be used to defend Mr. Andrews because their client has been “wrongly accused” of crimes committed while a 14th District employee. He said it was entirely appropriate that the money be used to cover costs. .
“As with many employees charged with workplace misconduct, his longtime employer covered his legal costs,” Bregen and Pugh said in an emailed statement.
After Thursday's pretrial hearing in Burke's case, Bregen and Pugh said they didn't know why Burke's payments to Andrews were classified as “consulting” on campaign records.
Overall, Burke has also spent more than $3 million of his campaign funds on legal fees since 2018, much of it on his own legal fees.
Kent Redfield, a former political science professor and campaign finance expert at the University of Illinois at Springfield, said he found the arrangement between Burke and Andrews unusual. He also questioned whether the “consulting” had incorrectly identified the true use of the funds.
Matt Dietrich, a spokesman for the Illinois State Board of Elections, said state law generally does not prohibit politicians and officials from spending campaign funds on their “customary and reasonable expenses.”
He said if a complaint is filed and the state board finds that the funds were misdirected, the agency could require the campaign finance company to amend its campaign finance report.
Dietrich said reporting expenditures as “consulting” does not automatically cause state board officials to question the nature of the description. He said the board's main objective is to ensure disclosure of funds.
Records show that Mr. Andrews received compensation for political activities over the past several years from political funds controlled by Mr. Burke. But unlike the recent stream of $10,000 checks, previous payments were mostly small and scattered.
Mr. Burke, 79, first faced criminal charges in January 2019, weeks after the FBI searched his office suite at City Hall.
Four months later, he was indicted on 14 counts, including extortion, federal program bribery, attempted extortion, racketeering conspiracy, and use of interstate commerce in furtherance of illegal activities.
The 59-page indictment outlines a series of schemes in which Burke allegedly had developers hire his law firm, Crafter & Burke, to appeal property taxes. . In addition to his Burger King-related charges, Burke also sought to capitalize on projects such as the $800 million renovation of the former post office in the West Loop, according to the indictment.
Andrews is accused of aiding and abetting Burke in an attempt to extort him from two managers who wanted to renovate their Burger King restaurant.
Also indicted is Charles Cui, who is accused of hiring Burke's property tax appeals law firm in exchange for assistance with city councilman's signature permits and funding for Portage Park District project deals. He has been indicted.
Mr. Choi also maintained his innocence. Jury selection for all three defendants is scheduled to begin on Monday, and the trial is expected to last up to six weeks.
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