Chicago Public Schools officials have opened 624 cases involving sex abuse since since Sept. 4, officials told aldermen Wednesday at a long delayed hearing called to shine the spotlight on a Tribune investigation of widespread sexual abuse at schools.

Aldermen will weigh an agreement to acquire abandoned railroad tracks near the proposed Lincoln Yards development. The agreement would allow The 606 trail to be extended and permit a light rail line to be built as part of the massive development along the North Branch of the Chicago River.

 

Indicted 20th Ward Ald. Willie Cochran rejected a plea deal Wednesday offered by federal prosecutors to resolve charges that the South Side alderman shook down a local business owner and stole $30,000 he collected to help people in his ward.

U.S. District Court Judge Jorge Alonso set a June 3 trial date, and prosecutors said they expect the trial to last two weeks.

Christopher Grohman, Cochran’s attorney, told reporters after the brief hearing before that the alderman “couldn’t stomach the idea of admitting to something he believes that he did not do.”

“He’s at peace with his decision, he’s going to take it to a jury and accept what the jury has to say,” Grohman said. “After reviewing the plea deal, the alderman could not come to terms to admitting that he defrauded any of the people that he solicited funds (from) for his charity. He never intended to defraud any of those constituents.”

Cochran’s decision to reject the plea agreement that had been in the works for months was first reported by The Daily Line.

If convicted, Cochran could face approximately five years in prison, Grohman said.

Cochran waved to reporters after the hearing, but declined to answer questions.

The plea offer did not include mandatory jail time, Grohman said. It required Cochran to admit to one count of wire fraud, he added.



“It is a big risk,” Grohman said of Cochran’s decision to reject the plea agreement and face trial on all 15 counts of the indictment handed down in December 2016.

However, Grohman called the witnesses set to testify against Cochran “weak,” and said there was no evidence that his client had accepted bribes.

Cochran’s indictment became public during the December 2016 City Council meeting. He did not file to run for re-election Monday. Fifteen candidates are running to replace Cochran, who is the third 20th Ward alderman since 1987 to be indicted for committing a crime connected to his or her official duties.

If he is convicted at trial, or ultimately accepts a plea, Cochran will become the 30th alderman since 1972 to be convicted of corruption.

A retired Chicago police officer who represents the neighborhoods he once patrolled, Cochran is accused of using $5,000 he stole from the 20th Ward Activities Fund to pay his daughter’s college tuition and $25,0000 to fund trips to Indiana casinos.

In court filings, Grohman has argued that Cochran was innocent of the charges of the bribery against him, and made bookkeeping errors.

All of the money Cochran took from that charitable fund has been “covered or almost covered,” and all promised charitable events — including Christmas parties and back-to-school drives — took place, Grohman told reporters Wednesday.

Cochran is also accused of shaking down a lawyer for $1,500 and a local liquor store owner for $3,000 in exchange for helping them in the ward, according to the indictment.

“Alderman Cochran was doing exactly what an alderman should do — helping a minority business owner to develop abandoned buildings and lots in an impoverished community,” Grohman wrote in court filings.

Cochran remains a member of the City Council, and is not scheduled to go to trial until after his term expires this spring. Fifteen candidates are running to represent the 20th Ward, which includes Woodlawn and neighborhoods adjacent to the planned Obama Presidential Center.

One candidate, Andre Smith, attended Cochran's court hearing and told reporters he should step down immediately.

The FBI began investigating Cochran based on information developed by former Legislative Inspector General Faisal Khan, according to a statement from former U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon.

Cochran was elected in 2008 to replace Ald. Arenda Troutman, who pleaded guilty to charges that she demanded political contributions from developers looking to do business in her ward. Those charges were highlighted by Troutman’s now infamous quote caught on tape: “Most aldermen, most politicians are hos.”

Troutman was sentenced to four years in prison.

Former Ald. Cliff Kelley was indicted in 1986 on charges of bribery and income tax evasion. Before he was convicted, Kelley lost the 1987 election to Ernest Jones, who died in office in 1990. Troutman was appointed to Jones’ seat after he died.

As alderman, Cochran earned $117,832 annually in addition to his annual police pension of more than $60,000, records show.

Municipal election candidates flooded the Chicago Pedway at 69 W. Washington St. on two Mondays in a row, in the hopes of snagging the first — or last — spot in their race on February’s ballots.

Chicago Public Schools officials are set to appear before the City Council’s Education Committee at noon Wednesday to answer questions about widespread and repeated failures to protect students from sexual abuse.

Indicted 20th Ward Ald. Willie Cochran will ask U.S. District Court Judge Jorge Alonso Wednesday morning to set a date for trial on a 15-count indictment that alleges the South Side alderman shook down a local business owner and stole $30,000 he collected to help people in his ward.

More than 100 candidates braved the aftermath of a fierce winter storm Monday to beat the clock and turn in enough petition signatures in the hopes of making it onto to the Feb. 26 municipal election ballot.

Voters in Woodlawn and Washington Park will be asked to weigh in on whether the Obama Presidential Center should sign a community benefits agreement that includes an affordable housing mandate and a property tax freeze for long-time residents.

Candidates have one last day to file enough signatures to leap the first hurdle to get on the Feb. 26 ballot for mayor, alderman, treasurer and clerk.

City officials expect to collect $900,000 more in 2019 from Chicagoans who a pay a 7-cents-per-bag tax as compared with what the city is on track to collect this year, budget documents reveal.

Mayoral candidate Gery Chico’s law and consulting firms have contracts with multiple companies doing business with city agencies, while fellow candidate William Daley received more than $25,000 for two speeches, according to statements of financial interest filed with the Chicago Board of Ethics.

As the holiday shopping season kicks off in earnest after the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers are packed away, the Chicago Board of Ethics has a warning for city officials: “When in doubt, just say ‘no thanks,’” to gifts and avoid “employment sanctions, removal from office, fines, and public shaming. No gift is worth that.”

The Chicago Board of Ethics issued a ruling Tuesday warning to candidates to keep their campaign material free of Chicago’s seal, while the silly season is officially underway.

The Thompson Center will not be sold this year, a report from Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office acknowledged — blowing a $300 million hole in this year’s state’s budget.

Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas submits his petitions to make it onto the ballot. [A.D. Quig/The Daily Line]

Precisely 120 candidates vying for Chicago mayor, city clerk treasurer and alderman filed nominating petitions Monday — with the vast majority lined up and ready to go before 9 a.m.