The wreckage of Chicago’s Federal Building after the explosion of a bomb that killed four people in 1918. It’s among the photos that appear on history displays on the 25th floor of the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.
Provided by the National Archives.
Chicago’s federal court puts its history proudly on display on its 25th floor, sharing stories with visitors about everything from the 1918 bombing of the old courthouse to the prosecution of Al Capone.
But following a request from one of ex-Chicago Ald. Edward M. Burke’s lawyers, courthouse staff began temporarily covering up some of the 11 displays on the wall, including one about the history of public corruption prosecutions in Chicago.
Burke attorney Chris Gair asked U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall on Monday to either take it down or cover it up. As of about 9 a.m. Tuesday, two of the displays had been covered by brown paper.
Kendall told lawyers Tuesday morning that she expects the displays to remain covered through the end of jury selection in Burke’s trial. After that, she said jurors in the case will be using other hallways that are not accessible by the public.
For now, potential jurors in the case have been spending time in the ceremonial courtroom of the Dirksen Federal Courthouse, which is right across the hall from the public corruption display. Multiple potential jurors could be seen walking through the hallway Tuesday morning.
Still, it’s an unusual move. Former Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson also went on trial in the building’s 25th floor last year and was defended by Gair. The name of Thompson’s grandfather, the late Mayor Richard J. Daley, can be found on one the the displays dealing with the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago and the ensuing Chicago Seven Trial.
That display also acknowledges the decision by Judge Julius Hoffman to order Bobby Seale gagged and bound to a chair amid that prosecution.
Other displays mention the prosecution of former Chicago Sun-Times owner Conrad Black and the 1918 bombing of the old courthouse that was blamed on the Industrial Workers of the World, a labor group known as the Wobblies. Among the workers reportedly in the building at the time was Walt Disney, who was working for the post office there.
Burke’s prosecution is one of the most significant public corruption cases to hit the Dirksen courthouse in years.
He is accused of using his seat on the City Council to steer business to his private law firm amid schemes that involved Chicago’s Old Post Office, a Burger King at 41st and Pulaski, and a Binny’s Beverage Depot on the Northwest Side. He is also accused of threatening to block a fee increase at the Field Museum because it didn’t respond when he recommended his goddaughter for an internship.
Kendall and lawyers questioned 20 potential jurors in the case Monday. Jury selection is set to continue Tuesday morning.
