Former councilor Edward M. Burke invoked the Catholic charter to commute his sentence in a corruption case

Shortly after former councilman Edward Burke was charged with corruption in 2019, church officials said they would wait until he was convicted before deciding whether to return a $10,000 donation that one of his campaign funds made to a Catholic charitable initiative overseen by the Archdiocese of Chicago.

“We are awaiting the outcome of the case before making a decision on the donation,” Paula Waters, spokeswoman for Cardinal Blase Cupich, said at the time.

Since then, Burke’s campaign committees have reported spending another $50,000 on Catholic organizations, and Cupich’s aides would not say whether they have returned any money to Burke following his December conviction for racketeering, bribery and attempted extortion, or if they plan to do so.

Catholic groups have relied on Burke’s campaign money for years — $100,000 in Burke’s political funds in the three years before he was charged. Burke relied on them recently to try to persuade U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall to be lenient on him when it came time to determine how long, if any, he should spend in prison.

Of the more than 200 letters of support sent to Kendall’s courtroom before she sentenced him on Monday to two years in prison for corruption – she could have sent him away for eight years or more – 25 came from Catholic priests, nuns and lay figures.

They shared stories about Burke’s charitable work, involvement with Catholic schools and causes, and experiences as a practicing Catholic and former seminarian.

One of Burke’s lawyers said during the sentencing hearing that Burke was essentially “a priest without a collar.”

It’s unclear whether Burke’s defense attorney pulled out a Catholic ID specifically to appeal to the religious sensibilities of the judge, who attended a Catholic high school and whose husband is the principal of a Catholic school in Waukegan. Burke’s lawyers declined to comment.

Burke’s wife, former Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke, cited Kendall’s faith in a letter in which she mentioned the judge’s participation in an event devoted to women’s leadership in the Catholic Church.

“You said compassion is a value that comes from your Catholic education, which you draw on and pray about when making difficult decisions in your work,” wrote Anne Burke. “I pray that you will call upon the Holy Spirit to show you compassion as you make decisions about our future.”

It is unclear whether or how the letters from Catholic people influenced Kendall’s decision on Burke’s sentence, which also included a $2 million fine. Kendall didn’t want to comment on it.

However, in court she referred to the good deeds that Burke’s supporters were talking about, saying: “These are very personal acts that have nothing to do with power or public office.”

The Rev. Dan Brandt, a Chicago police chaplain, wrote to Kendall: “I cannot praise Ed’s rich and active religious life, good character and love of neighbor enough.”

Several years earlier, Brandt had opposed the imprisonment of Robert Sorich, then-Mayor Richard M. Daley’s patronage chief, calling his corruption conviction a “miscarriage.”

Father Ken Velo, assistant to the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, wrote: “Your Majesty, you are a just and fair judge. Knowing this, I hope that this good man, Edward Burke, receives every possible consideration.”

The Rev. John Canary, who was vicar general under the late Cardinal Francis George, wrote that he was a longtime friend of Burke, with whom he went to high school.

“It would be a blessing to have some time left for him and his family to be together.”

Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki, for years a priest in Chicago, wrote: “In my request for lenient treatment, I hope that his charitable generosity and the character of his civic life will be taken into consideration.”

Some of the Catholics writing letters to Burke were leaders of groups that benefited from his campaign money, including Misericordia, which is based on the North Side and helps mentally and physically disabled adults.

Burke’s campaign funds — fueled by donors who often did business with City Hall or wanted to do so — have made more than $3,000 in donations to Misericordia over the past five years, and a total of more than $100 over the past 25 years, documents show. 000 dollars.

The president of St. Rita High School, who is a Catholic deacon, and an Augustinian priest who previously ran the South Side school wrote the letter on Burke’s behalf.

Over the years, the school has received a total of almost $30,000 from his political committees.

This year alone, Burke’s campaign funds have made 14 donations of $200 to St. Bruno Catholic Church, 4751 S. Harding Ave., with nearly $34,000 donated over the past two decades.