Federal judge deems former Chicago alderman accused of bribery unfit for trial

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A federal judge ruled that a 76-year-old former Chicago alderman accused of bribery and lying to the FBI is unfit for trial, saying it would have an “adverse effect” on her health. 

Carrie Austin was indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2021 “for allegedly conspiring to receive home improvements from construction contractors seeking city assistance for a development project” in her Far South Side ward, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois said at the time. 

Austin, who spent nearly 30 years on the Chicago City Council before resigning in 2023, pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to Fox32 Chicago. Her attorneys argued that the trial, scheduled for November 2025, should be postponed indefinitely as Austin was dealing with serious health problems such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart ailments and cancer, the station added. 

“Merely the act of showering or walking from room to room in her house is strenuous for the Defendant, so there is no doubt that traveling to and from the courthouse, sitting in trial all day, and traveling to meet with her attorneys at night, even with the aid of a scooter, will have an ‘adverse effect’ on her health compared to resting at home as she currently does most of the time,” Judge John Kness was quoted as saying in his ruling, after consulting with doctors. 

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Federal prosecutors said Austin was charged with one count of conspiring to use interstate facilities to promote bribery, two counts of using interstate facilities to promote bribery, and one count of willfully making materially false statements to the FBI. 

“According to the indictment, starting in 2014 a construction company planned to construct a residential development in Austin’s ward at a cost of approximately $49.6 million,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. 

It added that beginning in 2016, Austin and her chief of staff, Chester Wilson, “were provided with personal benefits by the owner of the construction company and other contractors in an effort to influence them in their official capacities.” 

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“According to the charges, in June 2017 a contractor on the development project paid an invoice for $5,250 to cover a portion of the purchase price of kitchen cabinets at Austin’s residence by falsely representing that the cabinets were for an address within the development,” prosecutors said. “In addition, in July 2017 Austin accepted from a contractor on the project an offer to pay for two ‘brand new’ and ‘expensive’ sump pumps, and to have the contractor’s family member buy and install a new dehumidifier, the indictment states.” 

In 2021, Austin collapsed during a City Council meeting because of her lung conditions and was rushed to a hospital, Fox32 Chicago reported, citing court documents. 

The station said years later, federal prosecutors tried to refute her claims of being medically unfit, arguing a surveillance video showed Austin walking in and out of a salon without help. 

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However, Judge Kness ultimately ruled her unfit for trial, noting that Austin’s current state would make it hard for her to meet with her legal team and participate in her own defense.