Whipped Cream Difficulties

I don’t mean to seem lazy, but I can’t put it much better than Reason‘s “Hit and Run” did:

Chicago Alderman and Notorious Nanny-Stater Ed Burke Charged in Federal Corruption Scheme

I know: a corrupt Chicago alderman? Who’d thunk it? From the Tribune:

A federal criminal complaint unsealed Thursday charged Burke with attempted extortion for allegedly using his position as alderman to try to steer business to his private law firm from a company seeking to renovate a fast-food restaurant in his ward. The charge carries a maximum of 20 years in prison on conviction.
The complaint also alleged Burke asked one of the company’s executives in December 2017 to attend an upcoming political fundraiser for “another politician.” Sources identified the politician as Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who is running for Chicago mayor.

I missed this story, but there was an FBI raid on Burke’s office a few weeks ago:

Prosecutors revealed during the 10-minute hearing that the FBI found 23 guns in the raids on Burke’s City Hall and ward offices in November. As a condition of his bond, Burke, a former Chicago police officer, was ordered to surrender the firearms and any others he may own within 48 hours of his release.

This is amusing: I can’t tell if Burke was a member of Crooked Mayors Against Self-Defense (or if he was even eligable, being an alderman) but he was a big time gun grabber:

But while he was trying to deny residents of one of America’s most violent cities the right to defend themselves and their property, he was protected day-and-night by a team of four Chicago police officers. Having personal bodyguards is not a typical perk of a city alderman, but it’s one Burke has enjoyed for decades, at taxpayer expense, due to threats made against him in the early 1980s.

Of course, innocent until proven guilty, yadda yadda, but: they caught him on the wire. I’m looking forward to Alderman Burke going to prison for a long, long time.