Former Chicago city council powerhouse Ed Burke and ex-Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan are felons convicted in different cases, but right now both men are begging for mercy on a path that may end on President Donald Trump’s desk. <\/p>\n
We begin with the fabled and now defrocked Ed Burke. At age 81, if Burke wants his record cleared at this point, he has no choice but to beg Trump for a pardon. This direct-to-the-top approach for Burke has become necessary because his application for conventional clemency through the Justice Department pardon office was rejected. <\/p>\n
After 54 years in the Chicago City Council, history’s longest tenure, a short walk of shame is Burke’s lasting legacy, as his home confinement continues after his conviction. <\/p>\n
Last week NBC Chicago\u2019s investigative team learned that a Justice Department notice went out closing Burke’s standard request for a pardon.<\/p>\n
Now his hope for a pardon is with the president, who has a history of siding with convicted politicians. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think about, you have to understand about Trump, is that he’s a criminal,” said University of Missouri law professor emeritus Frank Bowman, a former federal prosecutor. “He’s not only a convicted felon with 34 counts, but his is essentially a criminal mindset. If you want to get a pardon from him, you need to to signal, personally and through your intermediaries, that you think he’s the best thing since sliced bread, you know, bend the knee, flatter him.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for Madigan, he just began a 7 1\/2 year federal sentence for corruption. As NBC 5 Investigates first reported, a filing by 83-year old Madigan has aimed for a pardon once he is released.<\/p>\n
Madigan’s net worth is estimated at $40 million, and Burke’s wealth at $30 million. Despite being rich Democrats, they are both appealing to a rich Republican president.<\/p>\n
Needless to say, the Burke\/Trump road is rocky. As a 2016 Chicago Sun Times front page proclaimed, Burke’s law firm made millions by saving Trump millions in property taxes.<\/p>\n
But during Burke’s trial he successfully blocked any mention of Trump, saying the president is despised by many Americans, especially so in Chicago. <\/p>\n
“I don’t think that money is at play here. I think it’s more for Trump, ‘what have you done for me in the past, or what might you do for me in the future?;” said University of Chicago law professor Erica Zunkel. “He is somebody who holds grudges and does not let any slight slide.\u201d<\/p>\n
Madigan remains locked up in Morgantown, West Virginia. Burke his time in the Thomson Illinois prison and then a Chicago halfway house. But right now, both men are locked in limbo when it comes to their criminal justice status. <\/p>\n
Whether Burke and Madigan will carry the name felon to their final resting places, is a decision that now ultimately rests in Trump’s hands. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Chicago city council powerhouse Ed Burke and ex-Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan are felons convicted in different…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":439060,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[960,5386,1818,59394],"class_list":{"0":"post-439059","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago","8":"tag-chicago","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-illinois","11":"tag-michael-madigan"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115698440984919878","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=439059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/439060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=439059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=439059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=439059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}