Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot calls on Ald. Edward Burke to resign following federal indictment

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot called on longtime Ald. Edward Burke to resign after a federal indictment Thursday charged the longtime politician with racketeering, bribery and other misdeeds.

In an interview with the Tribune, Lightfoot said Burke has to resign. In her opinion as a former federal prosecutor, Lightfoot said, it’s a strong case built on recordings and a cooperating witness.

“He used the levers of government (to enrich himself),” Lightfoot said. “As you can see in reading the indictment, he was essentially calling up and muscling commissioners, line people and everything in between to get his way in order to ingratiate himself with a potential paying client for his legal business.”

Among other things, the 14-count indictment accused the powerful Democrat of abusing his power for personal gain.

Read more: https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-met-ald-ed-burke-indicted-chicago-mayor-lori-lightfoot-reaction-20190530-story.html