A federal judge Tuesday sentenced a top aide to former Ald. Carrie Austin to three years of probation, including three months of home confinement and a fine of more than $20,000 for his role in a public corruption case that first came to light during an FBI raid of Austin’s Far South Side office seven years ago.
The sentence imposed on 60-year-old Chester Wilson, who worked as Austin’s chief of staff, marks the likely end of a yearslong legal saga for Wilson and his boss, who was the second-longest serving member of Chicago’s City Council when she retired amid mounting health concerns and beneath the cloud of a 2021 indictment for charges of bribery and lying to FBI officials.
In the indictment, officials alleged a developer working on a 91-unit project in Austin’s Far South Side ward provided improvements at Austin’s home and an investment property Wilson owned in return for help getting the project through the City Council starting in 2016. Between them, Austin and Wilson allegedly got new kitchen cabinets, granite countertops, bathroom tiling, sump pumps and an HVAC system for free or at a discount.
Wilson was charged in the indictment with bribery and one count of theft of government funds for illegally obtaining “SNAP” state food subsidies by paying the intended recipient less than the face value.
Wilson originally said he would plead not guilty to the charges, but ended up changing his plea last September, about two months after U.S. District Judge John Kness found that Austin was medically unfit for trial. The former alderman’s health had been declining for years, and she collapsed on the floor of the Chicago City Council shortly before her retirement in 2022.
On Tuesday, addressing Wilson and his attorneys, Kness said there was “an element of unfairness” in that Austin is likely never to get a day in court to answer the charges. Wilson’s role in the situation, he said, was “the thornier aspect” in making a sentencing decision.
“I’m sure it’s debatable whether you were driving this scheme,” he said. “I don’t know what you thought in doing it. What I do know is, it’s bad.”
Although federal prosecutors had argued Wilson should serve a six-month prison term, Kness said he didn’t think incarceration was necessary for what turned out to be a misdemeanor conviction. However, the judge also said he did not want “anything about this sentence to suggest you’re getting a slap on the wrist.”
“I don’t want you going outside and enjoying your retirement and the fresh air and all of that,” he said.
Instead, Kness said, he hoped the three months of home confinement would give Wilson time to “contemplate what led you to this position.”
Wilson will also be fined $20,000, plus an additional $372 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a $25 special assessment, Kness said.
When invited to address Kness, Wilson kept it brief. He only apologized “for the situation” and thanked the judge for his consideration.
