Burnett subpoened in Carothers case

02/01/2010 2:23 PM

By Micah Maidenberg
Editor

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Alderman Walter Burnett

Ald. Walter Burnett (27th), whose ward includes parts of the West Loop and Near West Side, has been subpoenaed to testify in the upcoming trial of developer Calvin Boender, who allegedly bribed Isaac Carothers, the West Side alderman.
Carothers pleaded guilty in federal court to accepting some $40,000 in home improvements in exchange for his support of a zoning change for Boender's Galewood Yards project in Austin.
Boender has pleaded not guilty.
Boender's attorneys subpoenaed Burnett, according to a document filed by City of Chicago lawyers last week in federal court, to compel him and nine other alderman - former Ald. William Banks as well as Alds. Ed Burke, Emma Mitts, Ricardo Munoz, Patrick O’Connor, Helen Shiller, Eugene Schulter, Ed Smith and Bernard Stone - to testify.
Five of the aldermen - Banks, Burke, Schulter, Smith and Stone - were members of the city council's Committee on Zoning when Boender was seeking his zoning change.
City of Chicago lawyers are fighting the motion.
"It is well-established that legislators have absolute immunity regarding their legislative activities and that this privilege extends to immunity from being compelled to testify concerning those matters," the federal court filing says.
Burnett is only mentioned once in the city's filing.
He said Boender's attorneys are looking for character witnesses.
"The developer is just trying to get people to say that he's a good guy, and really nobody wants to be involved in that," Burnett said. "I have no idea. I haven't really looked at it. The lawyers have looked at it. From the gist of what they say ... it's he's a good guy and he doesn't anything wrong, compared to Ike Carothers. No alderman wants to be involved in that. It's unfounded."
Burnett said Boender owns property in the area he represents but said the developer has never built a project in the 27th ward.
Burnett noted that Boender sought zoning change for a project near Fulton and Morgan, but community members objected.
"He wanted me to re-zone that years ago," Burnett recalled. "The Randolph-Fulton Market Association said no, and that was my stance."

This post has been corrected to note that Boender is facing trial rather than Carothers, who pleaded guilty.


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