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    In 14th Ward, where former Ald. Ed Burke was lord, conviction greeted with both shrugs and cheers

    by Caroline Kubzansky and Gregory Royal Pratt, Chicago Tribune Dec 21, 2023 5 minutes
    Edward Burke, middle, exits the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in downtown Chicago after a verdict in his corruption trial on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023.

    CHICAGO — Michele Ryba credits former Ald. Edward Burke with the fact she feels safe walking to the CTA Orange Line at dawn.

    For her, the quality of life in the Southwest Side’s 14th Ward is more important than the corruption case federal prosecutors brought against the ward’s former longtime alderman that resulted in Burke’s conviction Thursday on all but one of the 14 counts that he used his public position to extort businesses.

    On a recent night, Ryba, 61, considered whether a guilty verdict would make her think differently about Burke’s legacy. She took several moments, then shook her head.

    “I can’t say it wouldn’t matter if he committed a crime, but he was a good alderman and he got things done for the ward,” she said.

    And therein lies the pro and the con that makes Burke’s case intensely local yet also ubiquitous across Chicago as aldermen across

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