* Sigh…

* From Turow’s letter…

I have known Ed over the years as one of the most keenly intelligent people I’ve ever encountered, someone with an unrivaled knowledge of the history of Chicago. He is a person with a loving and complex view of human nature, and, in my long experience with him, a central preoccupation with the practical steps that will make life here better for all of us.

None of this is to gainsay the evidence heard in your courtroom, or to diminish the gravity of the crime Ed has been convicted of.

But one thing has been striking to me since the complaint was first unveiled in this matter in 2019. How consistent is it with the image the prosecutors want to draw of a City Hall insider “steeped in corruption” to think that such a man would get on the telephone with people he barely knew and declare, “[We’re going to talk about the real estate tax representation and you [a]re going to have somebody get in touch with me so we can expedite your permits”?

Of course, that was exactly what he said. But what allegedly experienced schemer of Ed’s intelligence, let alone a lifetime familiarity with law enforcement and Chicago history, would deliver such a clearly improper message so baldly? The same observation applies to statements about “tuna” and “cash registers,” uttered so cheerfully—and guilelessly.

In short, I have considered the crimes themselves as clear evidence of a state of decline that the defendant is too proud to recognize or acknowledge and which the prosecutors, naturally, would not focus on. Personally, I have no doubt that a younger Ed Burke would have stayed carefully within the white lines-and out of your courtroom. Accordingly, I believe that is an important consideration as you ponder the heavy task of setting an appropriate punishment for an 80 year old.

Maybe now we have some insights into why the G never went after Burke until relatively recently. He was their impressively smart buddy. A mentor, even.

He apparently worked the refs quite well for decades.