When former Appellate Court Judge Edward Egan was appointed special prosecutor to look into allegations of two decades of systematic torture under former Chicago Cmdr. Jon Burge, he initially told his wife the inquiry would take about a year.
But the number of torture allegations soon ballooned from 64 to 247, and it took four years before a final report was issued in 2006. Mr. Egan and his team found that Burge had coerced dozens of confessions out of suspects with punches, kicks, radiator burns and electric shocks, but could not be prosecuted because the statute of limitations had long run out on the cases.
Critics claimed Mr. Egan’s team purposefully dragged their feet in releasing the report, but associates and family members say Mr. Egan’s decision to take his time despite the high-profile nature of the probe was an example of his thorough nature and dedication to justice.
Mr. Egan, 84, died of cancer Wednesday at his Orland Park home, said his son, Matthew Egan.
“He knew going in that no one was going to give him a pat on the back at the end of it all,” Matthew Egan said. “But he felt this issue was really a festering sore in the community that had not been properly addressed. He felt a strong sense of commitment to bring light to darkness and truth to the situation regardless of how the chips fell.”
A Chicago native, Mr. Egan was raised on the South Side, one of seven children of a Chicago police officer.
He attended seminary for three years before graduating from St. Rita High School in 1941. During World War II, Mr. Egan served in the Army and saw combat during the Battle of the Bulge.
After the war, Mr. Egan used the G.I. Bill to become the first member in his family to attend college, graduating from DePaul University Law School in 1949 before embarking on a legal career that stretched across six decades.
Mr. Egan joined the Cook County state’s attorney’s office in 1951 as an assistant state’s attorney, leaving briefly in 1958 before returning as first assistant state’s attorney under Daniel Ward in 1960.
Mr. Egan was elected as a judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County in 1964 and was appointed to the Appellate Court by the Illinois Supreme Court in 1972.
He was elected to a 10-year term in 1974, but left the bench in 1975 for an unsuccessful bid as the Democratic candidate for state’s attorney.
After the election, Mr. Egan started a private practice, specializing in complex civil and criminal trial work and appeals. He also served as general attorney for the Chicago Transit Authority from 1977 until 1981.
In 1983, Mr. Egan was appointed to the Illinois Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission, where he worked to reduce delays in investigating client complaints against attorneys.
He was again appointed to the Appellate Court in 1988 and was elected to a full term in 1990.
He served in that capacity until 1996, when he returned to private practice.
Mr. Egan returned to public service in 2002, when he accepted an appointment to serve as special prosecutor responsible for investigating the police torture allegations. Mr. Egan and his first assistant on the probe, Robert Boyle, were chosen for the job because of their experience and “great integrity,” Cook County’s chief Criminal Court judge Paul Biebel Jr. told the Tribune in 2006 after the report was released.
Mr. Egan’s lengthy career did not come without sacrifices, and his children recall him holing himself up in his study on weekends to get a jump on the week ahead, reading briefs and preparing for oral arguments.
Outside the courtroom, Mr. Egan was an avid learner, who studied and spoke Latin, Greek, Italian, German and French.
Daughter Lynn Egan, who works as a county law division judge at the Daley Center, said her father was motivated by the deep sense of justice and compassion instilled in him while in the seminary.
“He believed so strongly in the importance of the cause in everything that he undertook,” Lynn Egan said.
Other survivors include his wife, Janet; a daughter, Moira Green; two sons, Brian and Daniel; two stepdaughters, Cathleen and Maureen Sweeney; three stepsons, Patrick, Michael and Thomas Sweeney; and eight grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Friday at Blake-Lamb Funeral Home, 4727 W. 103rd St. in Oak Lawn.
Mass will follow at 11:15 a.m. Saturday at Our Lady of the Woods Roman Catholic Church, 10731 W. 131st St. in Orland Park.
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mcgarcia@tribune.com
