At least two local columnists, Mary Mitchell & then Carol Marin, noticed the ever-ridiculous Ald. Ed Burke (Dem - I.O.C.) comparing Roland Burris to Martin Luther King. He even quoted King's line "you will remember not the words of your enemies, but the silence of your friends."
Somehow, neither brought up my favorite story about Ed Burke's silent friends. After all, Ed has good reason to thank his silent friends. His silent dead friends.
In 1997, the Sun-Times questioned whether his legal clients might be paying him not for legal help, but for his vote on the council, since he had repeatedly voted on bills directly affecting companies paying him for legal advice. Burke asked that his votes be changed to 'abstentions' and blamed the conflict of interest on a man who everyone knew had no interest in the subject -- Alderman Tom Cullerton. He claimed that Cullerton had recorded his vote inaccurately. Culleron couldn't contradict Burke, since he had died three months earlier. (see Sun-Times, June 10, 1997)
By the way, it's a wonderful concept, this changing your vote to abstention after the fact. Retroactive Abstention! Even Sarah Palin's daughters could practice abstention retroactively. The problem being that by the time Burke decided to abstain retroactively, you and I had already been screwed.
And back in 1995, Burke had an uglier situation. One of his finance committee employees admitted she was a ghost payroller, doing no work for two years while on the city payroll and reporting to him. But again, Burke had a silent dead man at hand, his recently departed staffer Howard Lindsey. Burke claimed Lindsey "connived" with the sister of (current) Ald Marge Laurino, and that he had no idea what was going on. (see Sun Times, Jan. 30, 1995)
Some are haunted by the ghosts of dead men. Ed Burke has the clout to command dead men to bury his ghosts. Silently.
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