Judge rules former Chicago Ald. Carrie Austin medically unfit to stand trial on bribery charges
A federal judge has ruled former Chicago Ald. Carrie Austin is medically unfit to stand trial, four years after she was indicted on bribery charges.
In a 19-page ruling on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge John Kness wrote that, while the charges against Austin are serious, and the government has a weighty interest in proceeding to trial, the risks to Austin's health are more significant, and requiring her to face trial "would present an unacceptable risk to her health."
"Defendant is 76 years old and suffers from serious health problems, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), various heart ailments, and cancer," Kness wrote. "Defendant's health is progressively declining, she can do nothing to stop it, and the measures that could be implemented to reduce those risks are inadequate."
She had been set to stand trial in November. If her health improves, federal prosecutors could request a new trial date.
Austin, 76, was indicted in 2021 on federal bribery charges, accusing her and her chief of staff, Chester Wilson Jr., of taking bribes from a construction company seeking her support for a development in her ward. Both pleaded not guilty to the accusations.
Her attorneys have long argued that her health issues make it impossible for her to properly assist in her own defense, and Kness agreed.
"Even without the stress of trial, Defendant is able to meet with her attorneys only for an hour or two at a time, and her counsel maintains that Defendant has been 'physically incapable of assisting [counsel] in the defense,'" Kness wrote. "Meeting with counsel for hours after trial in addition to sitting through an entire trial day and traveling between the courthouse and her attorney's office will likely prove difficult if not impossible for Defendant. If Defendant struggles to meet with her attorneys for more than a few hours when resting at home, the 'off-hours and lengthy, stressful meetings' that both sides agree will be required before and during trial are unlikely to be feasible."
A court appointed doctor earlier this year had determined Austin was unfit to stand trial, noting she requires multiple oxygen tanks a day and " is not likely to tolerate crossing town daily for both courtroom activities and daily review sessions with her lawyer[s]."
Austin represented the 34th Ward on the Far South Side for nearly 30 years before resigning in 2023, making her the City Council's second-longest serving member after Ed Burke, who was convicted of racketeering and bribery charges in 2023, and spent about nine months of his two-year sentence in prison before being released to community confinement on Tuesday.
She has long been in poor health. In December 2021, then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot called for a "medical emergency" after Austin collapsed during a city council meeting—prompting staffers to call for an ambulance. However, she was back in City Hall in a little over a month.
Kness wrote that his ruling does not reflect on the merits of the case against Austin.
"Defendant is, of course, presumed innocent of the charges against her. But by the same token, she remains under the cloud of a criminal indictment returned by a grand jury," he wrote. "Barring a material improvement in her health, she may indeed never face the prospect of a guilty verdict; but then again, she may also never enjoy the restorative benefit of a not guilty verdict."
While Austin herself will now not stand trial in November as planned, her former chief of staff, Chester Wilson Jr., still faces charges of bribery and theft of government funds.
