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Chicago Tribune: Burke's own words could come back to haunt as wiretap on cellphone lasted at least 8 months
Longtime Ald. Edward Burke has spent decades at the pinnacle of the city’s power structure, but in the end, he may have buried himself with his own words.
The FBI had Burke’s cellphone tapped over at least an eight-month period, and during that time, at least 9,475 calls were made or received on the phone, according to the bombshell corruption charges unveiled Thursday.
Chicago Tribune: Damage control: How Toni Preckwinkle is addressing her ties to the Ald. Edward Burke corruption scandal
Nearly seven weeks from the election for Chicago’s next mayor, Toni Preckwinkle finds herself in a familiar position: playing defense against a high-profile problem that could threaten to derail her status as a front-runner in the race.
The Cook County board president is facing the revelation that federal authorities have accused one of Chicago’s most entrenched old-school politicians, Ald. Edward Burke, of shaking down a restaurant magnate for a financial contribution to her campaign.
Crain's Chicago Business: What City Hall corruption costs Chicago business
For generations, local companies ranging from small retailers to sizable manufacturers have endured the pressures Burke allegedly applied to Houston Foods, owner of a Burger King restaurant in his ward. According to the complaint unsealed yesterday, the powerful 14th Ward alderman, who stepped down today as chairman of the City Council Finance Committee, held up permitting for the restaurant in an effort to force Houston to hire Burke’s law firm for property tax work. Burke denies the charges.
Chicago Tribune: Toni Preckwinkle's administration hired Ald. Edward Burke's son to nearly $100K-a-year county job
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s administration hired powerful Ald. Edward Burke’s son to a nearly $100,000-a-year county job in 2014, newly released records show.
Personnel records released by the county in response to a Tribune public records request show Preckwinkle’s administration hired Edward Burke Jr. as training and exercise manager for the county’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department.
Peoria Journal-Star: Illinois agrees to health care reforms at all prisons
Amid claims of preventable deaths and substandard medical care, state officials have agreed to a sweeping overhaul of the health care system at prisons across Illinois, according to a proposed federal consent decree filed in Chicago on Thursday.
Under the agreement, which would resolve a lengthy lawsuit challenging the quality of care in the prison system, a federal monitor would be appointed to oversee reforms including increased medical and dental staffing, proper training and qualifications for staff, and infection and quality control measures.
Chicago Tribune: Palatine school worker sues union, saying he’s forced to pay dues despite Supreme Court ruling that bars practice
A northwest suburban school employee is suing his labor union, saying he’s being blocked from opting out of membership despite a landmark Supreme Court ruling last year that barred public unions from requiring government employees to pay dues.
Erich Mandel, a diesel mechanic from Palatine, claims in the suit that he tried in August to end his union membership and cease paying dues in the wake of the June decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Janus v. AFSCME, a case with Illinois roots that determined public sector workers could no longer be required to pay dues to a union as a condition of employment.
Decatur Herald & Review: 5 things to know about the $55 million Decatur Public Schools facilities plan
The Decatur Board of Education on Thursday afternoon heard a proposed timeline and more details for its $55 million plan to revamp district facilities.
Work is set to start soon on the first phases of the project, with two Decatur middle schools scheduled to combine by the start of the coming school year.