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 As Chicago’s longest serving alderman faces prison time, his
spouse will become the state’s most powerful judge.
The state’s high court justices on Sept. 10 elected Justice Anne Burke to chief
justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, succeeding former Chief Justice Lloyd A.
Karmeier.
The Supreme Court’s chief justice superintends all courts in the state and
chairs the 29-member Illinois Judicial Conference, the duties of which are to
“consider the work of the courts” and propose improvements to the courts and to
“the administration of justice.” The role of chief justice also holds sole
authority to permit or decline non-judges access to books in the Supreme Court
library.
Burke’s rise to chief justice comes while her husband, 14th Ward Ald. Ed Burke,
faces a 14-count indictment on federal corruption charges. In January, federal
prosecutors accused the alderman of attempting to extort the owners of a Burger
King franchise in his ward by withholding a remodeling permit in order to
pressure them to hire his private law firm to handle their property tax appeals.
Ald. Burke stepped down from his private law practice in August, after City
Council voted unanimously to approve Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s ethics
reform package, which included stricter restrictions on local leaders engaging
in conflicts of interest.
Illinoisans vote for Supreme Court justices on partisan ballots, electing them
to a 10-year term, while casting a simple “yes” or “no” vote for justices’
subsequent re-election bids. Sitting Illinois Supreme Court justices then elect
the chief to three-year terms.
While partisan judicial elections are not uncommon in the U.S., their potential
for corruption and politicization of the courts is well documented. The
nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice in a 2018 report found states could
address this problem by instead instituting a “transparent, publicly
accountable” system for appointing justices, among other reforms. A previous
study from the Center ranked Illinois fourth in the nation for total spending on
state Supreme Court races between 2013 and 2014 – despite only one seat being up
for election during that time. The other states in the top four had at least
three.
Justice Anne Burke saddled the Illinois Supreme Court with Chicago’s political
baggage in January 2018 when she and Ed Burke held a fundraiser at their home in
support of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s unsuccessful mayoral
bid. Ald. Ed Burke’s extortion charge the following year involved the allegation
that he coerced the Burger King franchise owners to contribute to Preckwinkle’s
campaign, pressuring the then-candidate to distance herself from the alderman
and return the $116,000 raised at the event.
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In January 2019, Preckwinkle told the Chicago
Tribune that it was Anne Burke – not her husband – who arranged the
fundraiser, despite Ed Burke’s name appearing on the event
invitation. But the Illinois Code of Judicial Conduct prohibits
judges from endorsing or raising funds for political candidates.
Political consultant Jeffrey Orr – the son of former Cook County
Clerk David Orr – filed a complaint against Anne Burke alleging
judicial misconduct. The Illinois Judiciary Inquiry Board in April
cleared Burke of any wrongdoing without explanation.
Preckwinkle hired the Burkes’ son in 2014 to a county position that
earned him an annual salary of nearly $100,000.
In another intersection of the Burkes’ political ties, Anne Burke
wrote the unanimous opinion defending Chicago’s burdensome food
truck regulations, which Ald. Ed Burke approved as a member of City
Council.
Some of the Illinois Supreme Court’s most significant and
controversial decisions in recent years have involved its strict
interpretation of the Illinois Constitution’s pension protection
clause.
In April, Burke wrote the majority opinion in a decision awarding a
former union employee eligibility to receive a decade’s worth of
teacher pension benefits despite only having worked a single day in
the classroom as a substitute teacher.
In 2015, the Illinois Supreme Court struck down the Illinois General
Assembly’s landmark pension reform law signed by former Gov. Pat
Quinn. The court ruled public pension benefits unchangeable under
the contract in effect at the start of a worker’s employment –
including future benefits that workers have not yet earned. The
opinion cited Section 5 of Article XII in the state constitution,
which states that public pension benefits “shall not be diminished
or impaired.”
In November 2018, the court ruled unanimously that the state
constitution’s pension clause allows select government employees to
inflate their post-retirement pay.
In fiscal year 2020, the state’s pension contributions and related
costs will consume more than 25% of all state general revenues at
$10.2 billion. The extreme rise in Illinois’ pension costs has led
to funding cuts to core services for Illinois’ most vulnerable
residents at the state and local levels. Pension costs are also the
main driver of Illinois homeowners’ rising property tax bills, which
stand among the highest in the nation.
The Illinois Supreme Court’s rejection of even the most modest
pension reforms only underscores the need for a constitutional
amendment and comprehensive pension reform in Illinois.
Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke will be the state’s 121st
chief justice. Her three-year term begins Oct. 26.
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