The sentencing hearing for former Chicago Police lieutenant Jon Burge began this morning to a packed courtroom. Over the next two days, victims of Burge's torture tactics while he was at Area 2 Headquarters are expected to offer emotional testimony and ask Judge Joan Lefkow to impose a harsh prison term to the policeman who came to epitomize police brutality in Chicago. more ›

A jury has found former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge guilty on all charges of perjury (one charge) and obstruction of justice (two charges) connected to testimony he made during a 2003 civil trial. Earlier today, John Conroy, who's credited with breaking the torture story years ago while at the Reader, had a lengthy explanation of other evidence - specifically, more accusations of police torture - that the jury was not privy to during the trial. more ›

The prosecution rested yesterday in the perjury and obstruction of justice trial of former Chicago Police commander Jon Burge after a day that included testimony from alleged robbery suspect Shadeed Mu’min. Mu'min testified of an interrogation session in October 1985 in which he said Burge pointed a revolved loaded with a single bullet at his head, playing a game of Russian Roulette, and suffocated him with a typewriter cover to get a confession in the alleged robbery and attempted murder of a Brown's Fried Chicken worker. The session was one that retired officer Michael McDermott testified about earlier this week in which he did some back-pedaling from previous testimony. Still, as John Conroy points out at Vocalo, there were consistencies between the two testimonies. more ›

Even as Illinois voters set out today to begin the process of electing his replacement, U.S. Senator Roland Burris is in trouble. It seems his growing legal debt has grown by well over a half a million dollars since last spring. Yesterday, Politico reported that filings released this week show that Burris' legal debt now tops a whopping $600,000 while money raised was around $6,000 for third quarter 2009 and nothing for the fourth quarter. Burris was scrutinized for perjury during 2009, relating to his appointment to the the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama when he won the presidential election in the fall of 2010. Last summer, he got off the hook for perjury from the state of Illinois and was ultimately cleared of wrong-doing by the Senate Ethics Committee, even as the issued a letter of admonition against Burris. Burris announced last summer he wouldn't be seeking to keep his seat. more ›

While we were watching Oprah, the Senate Ethics Committee charged with investigating alleged shenanigans pulled by Sen. Roland Burris leading up to his appointment to his current Senate seat by then-governor Rod Blagojevich officially cleared Burris. Issuing a Public Letter of Admonition (read the full letter after the jump), the committee cleared Burris of wrongdoing but before shaking its finger at him for actions that reflected "unfavorably" and scolded, "...you should have known that you were providing incorrect, inconsistent, misleading, or incomplete information to the public, the Senate, and those conducting legitimate inquiries into your appointment to the Senate." They then sent him to his room without supper and asked him to think about what he did. more ›

It looks like at least one chapter in the saga of The Lord's Senator has been closed. The Tribune reports that Sangamon County State's Attorney John Schmidt has said there isn't enough evidence to bring perjury charges against U.S. Senator Roland Burris. The perjury issue came up a few months ago when Burris sent an affidavit to the state House committee before whom Burris testified that had information that contradicted his testimony. more ›

And the plot thickens. Yesterday's development in the Saga of the Lord's Senator continues to unfold. First, the reports came out that a judge decided to release a taped mid-November 2008 conversation between then-not-senator Roland Burris and then-governor Blagojevich's brother Rob. Neither seemed that concerned. Then came word that on the tape, Burris promised a donation to then-governor Blagojevich's campaign, information that directly contradicted Burris' testimony before Blago's impeachment committee back in January. And now? The Sun-Times has the transcript [PDF - starts on page 12]. more ›

Maybe Senator Burris shouldn't be so relaxed about the release of a taped conversation between him and the governor's brother. The Sun-Times' Natasha Korecki is reporting this afternoon that caught on tape is Burris - before the senate appointment - promising to write the governor a campaign check of $1,500, but Burris attorney contends it was not pay-for-play. more ›

This morning, U.S. Judge James Holderman gave the okay to release secret recordings made of phone calls between U.S. Senator Roland Burris and Rob Blagojevich, brother of ex-gov Rod Blagojevich, to a senate ethics committee investigating Burris' shady testimony during Rod's impeachment trial in January. For what it's worth, it seems that attorneys representing both Rob Blagojevich and Sen. Burris are just fine with the tapes being released. Rob's lawyer, Michael Ettinger, said, "If it was up to us, we'd play it to the public," and Timothy Wright, a lawyer for Burris, said, "We think it is what it is. The truth is coming out. We think it helps to vindicate the senator." [Tribune, Sun-Times] more ›

The Saga of The Lord's Senator continues. While Burris continues to avoid the media following last month's affidavit revelation, there's still plenty happening in the Burris-sphere. Former Burris aide John Ruff was interviewed by Sangamon County State's Attorney John Schmidt two weeks ago regarding Schmidt's perjury investigation of Burris. Ruff told the Sun-Times, "They made it pretty clear I was simply one person to get information from. They gave me no sense of how, when or if they were going to proceed...They wanted to hear what I had to say face-to-face based upon what was in the story you ran. They wanted to know what kind of documentation that I might have that could back up my version of events." more ›

The Lord's Senator Roland Burris spoke to the press Monday night in Peoria, and what an event it was. In a nutshell, he says he told Rod Blagojevich's brother Rob that he would raise money for him, asked some people to help out, found out nobody was interested, and then told the brothers Blago that he couldn't do it, since he was seeking the senate seat himself. "So sometime shortly after Obama was elected, the brother called and I had talked to some people about trying to see if we could put a fundraiser on," Burris said. But the Chicago Public Radio Blog brings us the best bit of his statements, adding "He started talking…and talking…and talking…and talking…then contradicting…then back to talking about his involvement. The clip that the newspapers pulled doesn’t give it justice. This gives it justice." more ›

News you may have missed from over the weekend. more ›

At a press conference on Sunday, Sen. Roland Burris told reporters he had no inappropriate contact with regards to his Senate seat with any friends or supporters of former Governor Rod Blagojevich. “I’ve always conducted myself with honor and integrity,” Burris said. “I did not donate one single dollar, nor did I raise any money, nor promise any favors of any kind to the governor.” more ›

And here we thought the Saga of The Lord's Senator™ was all played out. But yesterday came the revelation that then-Governor Rod Blagojevich's brother had asked Roland Burris for a campaign contribution. The incident occurred prior to Blagojevich's appointment of Burris to replace Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate, but Burris failed to mention the incident while testifying under oath to the state house committee investigating Blagojevich for impeachment. And now that Burris has changed his story (again), he finds himself facing calls for a perjury investigation against him. more ›

New controversy has erupted in the case of former police Cmdr. Jon Burge as the Fraternal Order of Police has announced they will pay for Burge's defense, a bill the Trib speculates could reach as much as $1 million. Burge was charged in October with perjury and obstruction of justice in connection with charges of police torture.

FOP President Mark Donahue confirmed that the union board voted Tuesday to provide funds for Burge's defense. But Donahue declined to comment further Thursday, saying he would have a more complete statement on the issue Friday. more ›

Former police commander Jon Burge, whose name has become synonymous in this city with police torture, was arrested this morning at his home in Tampa, Florida. He's been charged with perjury and obstruction of justice, charges which carry decades of jail time if Burge is convicted. more ›

Kilpatrick has hired former US Attorney Daniel Webb, who has some experience representing elected officials. He recently represented George Ryan (can't win 'em all), and has been ranked the "No. 1 white-collar criminal defense attorney" by Corporate Crime Reporter. more ›