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Axios
5 days ago
- Business
- Axios
Burnett's City Council era set to end, but his legacy still unfolding
Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) wore sunglasses and clutched a box of tissues Wednesday as his colleagues in the City Council bid him farewell after 30 years in office. The big picture: Burnett, the longest-serving alder in the council, is stepping down this month with his eyes set on taking over as CEO of the Chicago Housing Authority. What he said: "I hope I made you proud," Burnett, holding back tears, said in his farewell speech. Zoom in: The 61-year-old also serves as vice mayor and chairman of the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks, and Building Standards. Burnett grew up in the Cabrini-Green housing development, which he believes makes him a natural to lead the CHA. Reality check: Burnett's story may make him a suitable candidate to run public housing in Chicago, but his record with housing issues is more complicated. Flashback: Earlier in his career, Burnett, who has always been a staunch supporter of whoever is mayor, served as a cheerleader for Mayor Richard M. Daley and the CHA's Plan for Transformation. This plan was to demolish public housing high-rises like Cabrini-Green and the Robert Taylor Homes and rebuild new mixed-income public housing. While Burnett helped usher in building new complexes like Westhaven Park on the West Side (replacing Henry Horner Homes), tens of thousands of residents who were displaced never returned. The plan was supposed to be finished within a decade, but most of its initiatives have still not been completed. Burnett's 27th ward includes the West Loop, which has had intense private development leading to affordability issues over the past decade. Some neighborhood advocates have accused Burnett of cozying up to developers, although Burnett countered by telling developers they had to hire minority workers if they wanted projects in his ward. State of play: Mayor Brandon Johnson will appoint Burnett's successor in the 27th ward, and Burnett's pushing his son to replace him. It's unclear if Johnson will select a successor for Burnett as vice mayor, but he will appoint a replacement for the chair of the Zoning Committee, and it hasn't been easy for him to get council confirmation in the past. The intrigue: Burnett's exit will make Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) the longest-serving lawmaker in the City Council. Beale began in 1999. The bottom line: Burnett will be remembered for his role in several City Councils over his 30-year career, but his legacy on how he has impacted the city is far from finished.
Chicago Tribune
13-07-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Editorial: Ald. Walter Burnett and the divine right to bequeath your political office to your progeny
For the second time in his long political career, Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. is maneuvering to find employment for one of his grown children in the 'family business.' Burnett has been in the news lately as Mayor Brandon Johnson's preferred choice to lead the Chicago Housing Authority. The 27th Ward alderman, 61, who serves as Johnson's vice mayor and Zoning Committee chairman, has said he will resign his aldermanic seat at the end of this month whether he gets the CHA job or not. And, in true Chicago political tradition, he has someone in mind to succeed him as alderman following his 30 years in that post: That person, naturally, just happens to be a blood relative. Burnett wants his 29-year-old son, Walter Burnett III, appointed, and Johnson has signaled he plans to follow Burnett's wishes. If all goes as expected, Walter Burnett III will be the second of Burnett's grown children to be appointed to elected office without first winning an election. In 2019, Burnett worked to get his stepson, Jawaharial 'Omar' Williams, appointed as Illinois House representative for the West Side's 10th District, succeeding Melissa Conyears-Ervin when she won election as Chicago treasurer. Back then, in justifying his push for his stepson, Burnett let forth one of the Freudian slips for the ages when it comes to Chicago politics: 'I don't know of any other family business — I shouldn't say family business — but if your kids work hard … that's what I work for, to promote my kids, help my kids if they do well.' 'I shouldn't say family business.' No, Ald. Burnett, you shouldn't. And you knew at the time that wasn't the right thing to say, even though it revealed precisely how you and so many others (as you repeatedly emphasize) who've won elected office in this city view what's supposed to be a public trust — as an enterprise transferable by birth or family relation. Like some kind of medieval baron. The effectiveness of appointing people to open seats (in this case, left open deliberately by Burnett to pass onto his son) is undeniable. Williams, Burnett's stepson, faced opposition in the first Democratic primary following his 2019 appointment. But he ran unopposed in both primaries after that. The seat presumably is his as long as he wants it. Assuming he's appointed 27th Ward alderman, Walter Burnett III will be in an even better position than his stepbrother. He'll have the same name as the guy who preceded him for three decades. By all means, we'd have no problem with Burnett's son running on his own for the seat, and his name likely would give him a distinct advantage in that scenario. But handing the post to him in this fashion would confer an almost insurmountable edge. That's by design. We should say here that we believe Walter Burnett Jr. has served the city well over his three decades. He's a voice of reason on the City Council and someone who has earned respect from people on both the left and right. We don't agree with him on everything, of course, but we consider him an asset to the council. We strongly disagree with his views on the divine right of family members to enter the 'family business,' however. Burnett naturally references families with names like Daley to justify his unapologetic nepotism. Fair enough. There are plenty of other families that have done the same — the name Jackson comes to mind. So does the name Stroger. Burnett points, too, to the same dynamic in private enterprise. Certainly in family-owned businesses, preference given to the next generation for leadership is a feature. But here's the difference: Those businesses are owned by the families. As in any other line of work, the owners are the ultimate decision-makers. In politics, officeholders are supposed to be strictly occupants of a seat. They aren't owners of their offices, instead owing their professional allegiances to taxpayers and constituents, even over and above their families. At least that's how it's supposed to work. That brings us to Burnett's namesake son. What are his qualifications? His father points to experience with Goldman Sachs. According to the LinkedIn profile for Walter Burnett III, he worked at Goldman for four years in New York but left the company nearly three years ago. There is no professional experience listed on his profile since then. Ald. Burnett put us in touch with his son, who tells us he's been consulting for developers in the hospitality and retail worlds, as well as rap artists, and has done some consulting work for nonprofits. Walter Burnett III says he wants to give back to the community and sees a role for younger people like himself to get involved in politics. And, confirming our misgivings about this whole affair, he said of politics, 'That's my family's business.' 'He's very attentive, he's very well-read,' the elder Burnett told Tribune reporters, referring to his son. 'It's not about money for him, because he gave up a lot of money to come back home and be connected to his neighborhood.' We understand both Burnetts' arguments, but these are not compelling qualifications to be appointed to the City Council. Let's be honest: The younger Burnett's qualifications to be alderman are his first and last names. That's not sufficient for this plum. The old school of Chicago politics has gotten a well-deserved drubbing of late, with powerhouses like former Ald. Ed Burke and House Speaker Michael Madigan, once viewed as untouchable, convicted of felonies in the conduct of their offices. Read the room, Ald. Burnett and Mayor Johnson. It's no longer appropriate — if it ever was — for influential local pols to treat their offices like personal heirlooms to bestow.
Chicago Tribune
03-07-2025
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
Willie Wilson: Chicagoans cannot wait 50 years for clean water
I was astonished to learn the city has submitted a request to extend its replacement of lead service lines — 30 years beyond the 20 years the federal government has proposed. The city plans to complete 8,300 replacements annually for 50 years, wrapping up in 2076. This pace defies common sense and is unconscionable. The city must move with a sense of urgency in replacing lead pipes. We know that structures built before 1986 have service lines that allow lead to leach into the drinking water. Chicago has over 400,000 lead service lines. The majority are located in Black and brown communities. Health experts agree there is no safe level of lead exposure. Exposure to lead can cause cognitive damage, developmental delays, difficulty learning and behavioral problems in children. Could this be a factor contributing to Black and brown children being overrepresented in special education classes and the prison system? Children's exposure to small amounts of lead-tainted water causes them to appear inattentive, hyperactive and irritable. Higher levels of lead exposure may cause children to have problems with learning and reading. Last year, a study published in JAMA Pediatrics estimated 68% of children younger than 6 years old in Chicago are exposed to lead-contaminated drinking water, with 19% of affected children using unfiltered tap water as their primary drinking water source. Elected leaders should be held accountable for lead in tap water. The failure to move with urgency in replacing lead service lines will place children and adults at greater risk of drinking lead-tainted water. The Chicago Housing Authority was ordered to pay $24 million in a lead paint poisoning case that affected two young children. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health in 2023, about 3,200 children tested positive for elevated blood lead levels. Preventing residents from consuming toxic water will reduce health costs and a potential public health crisis. Why would government leaders knowingly allow residents to be poisoned by contaminated water? This was the case in the city of Flint, Michigan, where the drinking water became contaminated with lead because of a change in the water source. WBEZ-FM 91.5 reports that the federal rule requires Chicago to replace nearly 20,000 lead pipes a year beginning in 2027 — more than double the speed of the city's current plan. Among the cities with the highest number of lead service lines, only Chicago has yet to adopt the federal deadline. Clean water is essential to life; without it, we cannot survive. The water we drink helps regulate body temperature, aids in digestion, carries nutrients to cells, flushes out waste, enhances our skin and much more. It is important that residents have confidence in water from the tap. A 2023 Gallup poll found 56% of Americans overall said they worry 'a great deal' about pollution of drinking water. However, that sentiment was expressed by 76% of Black adults and 70% of Hispanic adults, compared with less than half (48%) of white adults. The bottled water industry in 2016 surpassed soft drinks to become the most consumed beverage in the country. 'Bottled water in the U.S. has been found to be no safer than tap water on average, contains higher levels of microplastics, is less strictly regulated and consumers are much less likely to find out if contamination does occur,' a 2023 research paper published in WIREs Water noted. Moreover, distrust in the quality of public tap water is driving the growth of bottled water. The following are suggestions to ensure clean and safe drinking water for all residents: Elected leaders should consider children and the most vulnerable when urging a delay to remove lead service lines from homes. Long-term exposure to lead can contribute to an increased risk of kidney, testicular and potentially other cancers. Also, lead exposure can lead to high blood pressure and reproductive problems. Clean water is a universal human right. In 2010, the United Nations General Assembly formally recognized the right to safe and clean drinking water as a right inextricably linked to the full enjoyment of life and all human rights. The U.N. statement should be shared with elected leaders in Illinois. We cannot wait another 50 years to remove all lead service lines in Chicago. Every day we delay, the potential grows for more children to be poisoned by lead from their drinking water. I write this commentary to make those comfortable with allowing residents to drink lead-tainted water uncomfortable.
Chicago Tribune
01-07-2025
- Chicago Tribune
South Holland woman sentenced in theft scheme, pocketed rent payments
A South Holland woman was sentenced to two years in prison for taking more than $18,000 in rent payments while she was working for a property management company, according to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul's office. Delvya Harris also admitted to fraudulently obtaining more than $41,000 in federal Paycheck Protection Program loans by falsely claiming she owned a business, Raoul's office said in a news release. Harris, 32, was sentenced Monday by Cook County Judge Laura Ayala-Gonzalez after pleading guilty to a Class 3 felony theft charge, according to the release. Harris was employed by management firm Habitat Co. as an assistant community manager at the Chicago Housing Authority's Trumbull Park Homes in Chicago's South Deering community when she stole 50 money orders, according to the release. Harris admitted to depositing money orders CHA tenants used to pay, worth $18,215, into her personal bank account between December 2022 and March 2023, according to the release. Harris also fraudulently applied for two PPP loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration by falsely claiming that she owned a retail business that did not exist, Raoul's office said. Harris received a total of just over $41,000 in February and May 2021 from two fraudulent applications, according to the news release.
Chicago Tribune
24-04-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Afternoon Briefing: About those air quality readings yesterday
Good afternoon, Chicago. Readings from several popular weather apps had people across the Chicago area spending much of yesterday wondering whether their air was safe to breathe — until the dangerously unhealthy levels were revealed to be a glitch. Early in the morning, Google's air quality map showed that Chicago had the worst air in the country. Apple's weather app, too, showed that the Air Quality Index had climbed into the 400s, a reading so hazardous that people are encouraged to stay indoors. (The Air Quality Index, which ranges from 0 to 500, is a measure of the density of five pollutants in the air: ground-level ozone, particulates, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide.) To put that in perspective, that's as high as the levels reached in 2023 when smoke from wildfires in Canada blanketed much of the East Coast and turned the sky in New York City orange. Here's what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices. Highland Park parade shooter sentenced to life in prison without parole Robert Crimo III will spend the rest of his life in prison for opening fire on spectators at the 2022 Highland Park Independence Day Parade. Read more here. Chicago Housing Authority board member reprimanded for 'sexually graphic conversation,' report says A Chicago Housing Authority board member had a 'sexually graphic conversation' in front of agency employees and has been reprimanded by the interim board chair, a housing authority Office of the Inspector General report reveals. Read more here. More top business stories: Column: Nikola Jokić or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for MVP? How the Tribune's Bulls writer voted for NBA awards. It's finally time for the most controversial stretch of the NBA season — the waiting period between submitting end-of-year ballots and announcing the final award winners. Read more here. 'Étoile' review: A dance of egos, hookups and ballet backstage drama — and it's funny! In the Amazon dramedy 'Étoile,' a ballet company in New York and another in Paris swap some of their talent for a season, hoping the gimmick will sell more tickets and fix some financial struggles. Read more here. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton first major Democrat to declare bid for retiring Dick Durbin's Senate seat Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton today became the first of what is expected to be many candidates to launch bids for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Dick Durbin.
