Since his conviction on corruption charges and a brief prison stint that followed, politicians have surely kept their distance, at least publicly, from former Chicago Ald. Edward M. Burke.
Not so in two notable instances:
- Burke’s former City Council colleague, Ald. Ray Lopez (15th), recently accepted $10,000 in campaign contributions from two of Burke’s political accounts.
- A campaign fund for George Alpogianis, mayor of north suburban Niles, recently accepted a $1,000 contribution from a Burke fund.
Convicted in 2023 on extortion-related charges, Burke was released from prison last July and remained under the jurisdiction of the federal prison system into November, records show.
Throughout the ordeal, his campaign funds stayed open — and were used to cover hefty legal bills that appear to relate to his prosecution.
But otherwise the funds had been relatively dormant in terms of giving, and taking, donations.
Recent disclosure reports filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections, which regulates campaigns, show that the Burnham Committee, one of Burke’s campaign funds, gave Friends of Raymond A. Lopez $5,000 in a contribution dated Dec. 31.
Another $5,000 was given to the 15th Ward Regular Democratic Organization, which Lopez also oversees, by Friends of Edward M. Burke the same day.
A longtime political ally of Burke, Lopez stirred up controversy in 2023 as Burke was retiring — prior to his conviction and after more than 50 years in office — by proposing that May 15 of that year be called “Ald. Edward M. Burke Day” in Chicago.
Lopez eventually dropped the effort at Burke’s request, as the Chicago Sun-Times reported at the time.
Burke, the former 14th Ward alderman, couldn’t be reached for comment.
His Burnham fund has more than $2 million on hand, records show.
Lopez said of the campaign contributions: “I have long believed that returning citizens, after completing their court sentencing, should be welcomed back as productive citizens should they seek to move beyond their transgressions. I do not believe anyone’s mistakes are life sentences that extend beyond their punishment.”
Friends of Edward M. Burke — which has about $80,000 in cash on hand and more than $8 million invested — also gave $1,000 to Friends of George D. Alpogianis, records show.
Alpogianis has been mayor of Niles since 2021 and was reelected in April 2025 while running unopposed. Before that, he was a village trustee and served as chairman of Niles’ Finance Committee, the same post Burke held in Chicago’s City Council for decades.
The campaign money, given by Burke’s fund in October, was made public in disclosure reports this year.
Alpogianis is part of a Chicago restaurant group that includes a number of establishments in the Chicago region and out-of-state, from a hot dog chain and a healthy food shop at O’Hare Airport to Kappy’s Restaurant & Pancake House in north suburban Morton Grove.
Alpogianis said he grew up in the North Side’s 40th Ward volunteering under then-Ald. Patrick O’Connor, and his family once owned the Palace Grill on the Near West Side. Through all of that, Alpogianis said he came to know a lot of people, including Burke, who would become one of his political mentors.
“I’m not one to judge anybody,” Alpogianis said, referring to Burke’s felony case. “Good people sometimes make bad decisions. I just know him in a very different capacity. I have a great deal of respect for him.”
Mentioning Burke’s wife, former Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke, he added: “They’re good people, and it seems they still believe in me.
“I had a fundraiser. He heard about it; he sent me a check.”
Burke’s conviction involved his attempts to muscle certain businesses into hiring his longtime law firm, Klafter & Burke, for property tax appeals work.
The Kappy’s property is owned by another company that’s used the now-defunct firm.
Likewise, Klafter & Burke and another lawyer who used to work there and is now a partner with Burke’s daughter, Jennifer Burke, have handled tax-related appeals for Alpogianis’ home over the years, county records show.
Alpogianis said he’s the one who wanted to bring them on — “they never approached me about doing it” — and Edward M. Burke has never spoken to him about any of this.
Burke’s campaign funds have also continued giving contributions to Catholic organizations, even though the arm of the church for Cook and Lake counties led by Cardinal Blase Cupich, the Archdiocese of Chicago, once contemplated whether it should be taking Burke’s money given his criminal case.
In March, the Burnham fund gave the archdiocese $10,000, records show.
In June, the Burnham fund gave $1,000 to the Augustinian religious order that Pope Leo XIV belongs to.