BishopAccountability.org
	Priest Abuse Probe, Baby T Case Shape Burke's Image By John Chase and Robert Becker Chicago Tribune April 6, 2006 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0604060168 apr06,1,6508714.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed At the end of her tenure in 2004 as head of the U.S. Catholic Church's review board on sex abuse, Anne Burke took aim at bishops for trying to take away the panel's autonomy by appointing to it religious members. She lambasted the "mischievers at work" within the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for attempting to squelch two years of "freedom and accountability." Burke's remarks, supporters say, show an independence that will suit her well in her new job as a member of the Illinois Supreme Court. "She has shown a lot of growth and courage, especially speaking out recently about the backsliding of bishops across the country and their reneging on their reforms," said David Clohessy, national director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP. "I think it's always beneficial when people who truly understand child sexual abuse are in decision-making positions, especially within the judiciary." Burke, who has been an Appellate Court judge since 1995, rarely has sought the spotlight, leaving high-profile politics to her husband, Democratic powerbroker Ald. Ed Burke (14th). She has focused her career on children's issues, from her work with Special Olympics to serving as a special adviser to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. "I have been a wife and mother, a schoolteacher and a community activist," Burke said, adding that the best way she's discovered to make an impact on the professional level has been in the legal world. "I've participated in my community not only from a public service point of view but also with an eye toward bettering the justice system. I hope and I think I've done that." Not that Burke hasn't had the occasional political aspiration. She once weighed a run for state attorney general. The news of Burke's impending elevation to the Supreme Court prompted praise from some in church and legal circles. Cardinal Francis George issued a statement extolling Burke's "deep commitment to the welfare of children and her many years of public service." Bob Downs, a Chicago attorney dealing in family law and president of the Illinois State Bar Association, said retiring Justice Mary Ann McMorrow couldn't have picked a better successor. "I'm delighted. I love Justice McMorrow and think the world of her. But this is a great replacement," Downs said. One critic was Tina Olison, the biological mother of the child known as Baby T. In 2000, after a bitter custody dispute, the Burkes were awarded permanent guardianship of the child, who at birth tested positive for cocaine. "Knowing the background of my case and the devices she [Anne Burke] used in order to gain guardianship of my child and my continued struggles just to see him--this announcement is very surprising and disappointing," Olison said. Burke also has made headlines in her recent role with a watchdog panel of prominent Roman Catholics entrusted with monitoring church policies for handling abuse allegations against priests. Asked to serve as interim chair of the National Review Board when then-Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating compared some bishops to the Mafia and then resigned, Burke was viewed as a more diplomatic leader who would balance due process for priests with justice for children. But soon Burke ran into conflict of her own, blaming the bishops for blocking studies to save the church further embarrassment. Over the 11 years she has been on the Appellate Court, Burke cited four cases she has been involved in as being particularly significant, including a 2003 ruling in which the court granted an evidentiary hearing to a Chicago man convicted of a 1985 double murder even though recent DNA tests had not proved his innocence.
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