Mayoral Candidate Lightfoot Says Burke Should Resign

Friday, December 7, 2018 | 0

Chicago mayoral candidate Lori Lightfoot called on Alderman Edward Burke, who oversees the city’s workers’ compensation program, to resign and blasted City Council candidates for accepting financial support from him, according to a report by Crain’s Chicago Business.

Lori Lightfoot

Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor, said she is not ignoring the presumption of innocence required in criminal cases by asserting that the long-serving alderman step down.

“They have serious evidence that a federal crime was committed,” Lightfoot contended. “Obviously Ed Burke is the target of that investigation.”

Lightfoot also blasted her fellow mayoral candidates — Toni Preckwinkle, Susana Mendoza and Gery Chico — for accepting contributions from committees that Burke controls. 

“Ed Burke, unfortunately, seems to have bought their silence,” Lightfoot said. “Each of those candidates has to ask, what did you give him in return?”

Lightfoot and other critics have long contended that administration of city workers' compensation claims, estimated to cost $100 million annually, should be taken from the Finance Committee that Burke chairs and be handed to the mayor's office.