Chicago alderman, top aide accused of racketeering

Chicago Alderman Edward M. Burke and his top political aide, Peter J. Andrews, were charged Thursday with racketeering in a wide-ranging 59-page indictment, which contains the most details yet of corruption allegations against one of the most powerful politicians in the city.

Among the new charges in the indictment, Burke is accused of shaking down the developer of the Old Post Office development for legal work and attempting to derail a proposed fee increase by the Field Museum, because it was not responding to his inquiry regarding a job for the child of a Burke acquaintance, former Alderman Terry Gabinski.

The charge itself, racketeering, is stunning, given that it was created to combat mobsters and organized crime, and the racketeering enterprise named in the indictment is the government of the city of Chicago itself.

• For the full report, visit chicago.suntimes.com.