For many years I have been continually astonished by the arrogance, righteousness and smugness displayed throughout his public life by Ald. Ed Burke.
By his attitudes and behavior he gives new meaning to the Mike Royko observation that the words to live by for many Chicago politicians were “Where’s mine?” Looks like Burke is getting his precisely because he is practiced at knowing what the law allows. He is, after all, both a lawyer and a member of lawmaking body.
What makes Burke’s activities so reprehensible is that as a skillful practitioner of “the law,” he is easily able to rest on his always-ready explanation that whatever he does is always “legal.” I, for one, am unimpressed.
I prefer public servants whose goal is to serve the citizenry, not themselves. That puts me on the side of insisting that following the letter of the law is not good enough. What about the spirit of the law–the bedrock of real justice?
The basis of Burke’s perceived power is that no one in this city’s government knows better than he what the law allows. But his position derives from the consent of others. It seems to me that the citizens of this great city should say “enough” to this self-serving legalese by exercising their ability to throw Burke out of office. That would be exercising real power of, by and for the people, in whom it must always reside.
