A federal jury in Chicago found Chicago City Council member Patrick Daley Thompson, an attorney whose legal work includes public finance, guilty of making false statements and tax fraud.
The guilty verdict handed down Monday on all seven counts he faced makes Thompson, the grandson of former Mayor Richard J. Daley and the nephew of former Mayor Richard M. Daley, ineligible to continue serving as an alderperson.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot will name a replacement in the coming weeks.
The charges stemmed from loans he received from Washington Federal Bank for Savings which failed in 2017 leaving federal insurers to cover losses.
Thompson, 52, was charged with five counts of willfully filing a false income tax return and two counts of knowingly making a false statement to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Each false statement count is punishable by a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison. Each tax count is punishable by up to three years.
U.S. District Judge Franklin U. Valderrama in Chicago set sentencing for July 6, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch.
Thompson serves in an of counsel role at Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella, PC which does local bond counsel and underwriters’ counsel work. While his practice is primarily focused on real estate issues including zoning, land use, and tax increment financing, he is a member of the public finance team at the firm.
“Mr. Thompson provides counsel and strategic advice to clients regarding real estate and governmental matters,” his
Thompson won election to the City Council in 2015 and was re-elected in 2019 representing the 11th Ward that includes the Bridgeport neighborhood where the Daley clan has long held sway.
More than 30 current or former council members have been convicted of a crime in the past decades. Federal charges are pending against two other current members, Edward Burke, the former Finance Committee chairman, and Carrie Austin, the former Budget Committee chairwoman.
