ED BURKE TRIAL: Public corruption display at Dirksen covered at request of Burke's lawyer

Chicago's federal court puts its history proudly on display on the 25th floor, sharing stories with visitors about everything from the 1918 bombing of the old courthouse to the prosecution of Al Capone.

But following a request from one of retired Chicago Ald. Ed Burke's lawyers, courthouse staff began temporarily covering up some of the 11 displays on the wall, including one about the history of public corruption prosecutions in Chicago.

Burke attorney Chris Gair asked U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall on Monday to either take it down or cover it up. By late morning Tuesday, five of the displays had been covered by brown paper.

Kendall told lawyers Tuesday morning that she expects the displays to remain covered through the end of jury selection in Burke's trial. After that, she said jurors in the case will be using other hallways that are not accessible by the public.

• This report was produced in partnership with the Chicago Sun-Times. For related coverage, visit chicago.suntimes.com.