In the category of closing the gate after the horse has bolted from the pasture, Mayor Rahm fired Ed Burke as chair of the all-important City Council finance committee after the feds indicted the 14th Ward alderman on charges of shaking down a Burger King franchisee.
In the aftermath of Burke’s indictment, Mayor Emanuel put on his sad and somber face—as though he were really hurt and surprised by what went down—and told the Tribune that public servants must have “a moral and ethical compass that informs your judgment of right from wrong.”
And yet Burke’s the guy who waved through the parking meter deal—with O’Connor’s assistance as mayoral floor leader—with no legitimate oversight after a day or two of hearings. Think about this—Burke (and O’Connor) thought it was a good idea to sell a $10 billion asset for $1.15 billion. Good God—both of them should have been bounced from office for gross incompetence years ago.
So while Rahm and Burke are saying they’re working overtime to reduce the burden on taxpayers, Burke is essentially making big bucks by getting us to pay more in taxes.
Obviously, Burke and Emanuel cut a deal: Rahm would look the other way as Burke made millions on his property tax business. And Burke would use his mastery of council procedure to usher through any legislation that Rahm wanted. No questions asked.
But Rahm cut his deals with Burke to pass regressive policies that took from the poor to feed the rich. He didn’t need to get into bed with Burke to do that.
