Justice Anne Burke and the Chicago City Council's great resignation.

Indictments, internal feuds and a good good pension fuel the departure.

My drawings and watercolors are on Instagram @klonskyart

The big Illinois political story yesterday was the news that the chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, Anne Burke, is quitting.

Burke’s spouse is Alder Eddie Burke who has served in the Chicago City Council for over 50 years. He and former alder “Fast” Eddie Vrdolyak led the opposition to the late, great Mayor Harold Washington in Council.

Vrydolyak was recently released from prison after serving five months of an 18 month sentence for being a tax crook.

Anne Burke has been on the court since 2006 and was named chief justice in 2019, less than a year after her husband’s office was raided by the feds, which led to Eddie Burke’s federal indictments.

Awkward.

37 members of the Chicago City Council since the early 1970s have been convicted of a crime.

That averages out to one council member convicted every 16 months.

Chicago Proud?

Awkward.

There is talk now that Burke will not run again for his seat in Council. There is the indictment and redistricting that removed most of his safe precincts.

This is odd to me since the question in many minds is why his trial has been delayed so often and how long the prison sentence will be, not his re-election prospects, which appear dim.

Just up north a mile from here is the 30th Ward. The alder, Ariel Reboyras, is going to announce his retirement from the City Council too, after more than 19 years representing parts of the Belmont Cragin, Portage Park, and Irving Park neighborhoods.

Reboyras barely won last time, beating a challenge from Jessica Gutierrez, the daughter of former Congressman Luis Gutierrez by 300 votes.

He is the 15th alderperson who has either stepped down mid-term since being elected in 2019, or announced they won't run again in 2023.

Ald. Howard Brookins (21st), Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza (10th), Ald. Tom Tunney (44th), Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th), Ald. Harry Osterman (48th), Ald. James Cappleman (46th), and indicted Ald. Carrie Austin (34th) also plan to retire at the end of their terms next year.

Ald. Michele Smith (43rd) resigned last month.

Former Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson of Bridgeport stepped down in February after he was convicted of federal tax charges.

Three other alders are giving up their City Council seats to launch bids to challenge Lightfoot next year, including Ald. Sophia King (4th), Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th), and Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th).

Odds are they will not make an expected runoff.

So, what’s up with all the departures?

Between Covid, a good pension waiting for them and Council chaos it should not be surprising that Chicago City Council members would be part of the Great Resignation.

The days when alders had a Boss to tell them what to do are over and they have to take responsibility for their actions or lack of same.

Nobody told them that would be part of the job.

“I’m tired of this. I have no ill feelings about anybody in city government, the mayor or anybody. It’s just the right time for me,” Alder Reboyras told the Sun Times.

Reboyras said he’s been “maxed out” on his pension and either “working for nothing” or “paying to come to work” for “at least three terms.”

Retiring alder Tom Tunney told the Sun Times, “There’s a lot of alderpersons who feel they haven’t been paid much attention to in regards to their needs of their individual wards. There’s a lot of acrimony in the council. … And I just think that a lot of people feel that it’s not a good place to work these days.”

And you thought you had it tough these past couple of years.