The former top aide to one of Chicago’s longest-serving alderpeople has been sentenced to three years probation and a $20,000 fine for his role in a scheme in which the pair allegedly used their public office to attain granite countertops and other home improvements.
The sentencing this week of Chester Wilson Jr., former chief of staff to then-Ald. Carrie Austin (34th), could be the closing chapter in an infamous, yearslong public corruption case in which U.S. District Judge John Kness previously ruled Austin, 77, was medically unfit for trial.
Prosecutors say that starting in April 2016, Austin and Wilson accepted home improvement materials such as sump pumps, a dehumidifier and kitchen cabinets as kickbacks from a developer overseeing a $50 million development in Austin’s ward. They allegedly then took action to benefit the developer and others.
The developer at the center of the indictment allegedly told Wilson during a phone call that he would pay for a part of a new HVAC system at Wilson’s investment property because “you help me a lot, and I’ll help you.”
Wilson was charged with bribery and theft of government funds. His probation sentence includes three months of home incarceration. Wilson’s attorneys did not respond to a request for comment.
Austin was charged with bribery and lying to the FBI. Because she had been suffering from lung and heart ailments, Kness concluded last year that a trial would be an “unacceptable” risk to her well-being. Austin collapsed during a City Council meeting in 2021.
A source previously identified the development to the Sun-Times as the Renaissance at Beverly Ridge, once headed by Lemont businessman Boris Nitchoff, who died in 2020.
Nearly a dozen residents there have told the Chicago Sun-Times about problems they encountered after buying new homes in the development.
Contributing: Jon Seidel