“When you call, Ed, you know we jump.” That revealing little piece of sycophancy came from the mouth of former Field Museum President Richard Lariviere and was delivered, obsequiously, to Ed Burke, the former Chicago alderman now accused of corruption and racketeering. The 2017 phone exchange was caught on tape as part of the federal investigation of Burke and played Nov. 20 for a jury. .
CHICAGO — Deborah Bekken, a onetime Field Museum director, was calling powerful Chicago Alderman Edward Burke to ask for his support for the museum’s proposal for a fee increase in September 2017 when he caught her off guard with an immediately chilly demeanor. “Well, uh, I was surprised to hear from you — to be very frank,” a gruff-sounding Burke said to Bekken on the Sept. 8, 2017, call, .