Anne M. Burke

Born Anne Marie McGlone, she was raised on Chicago's South Side.[1] She has two brothers and one sister. She graduated from Maria High School. In the late 1960s, she was working as a physical education teacher with the Chicago Park District when she began advocating for the idea of holding a Special Olympics for developmental challenged children. Gaining support from eventual chair, Eunice Shriver and the Kennedy Foundation, the first Special Olympics was held at Soldier Field in Chicago in 1968.[3]

While raising her own children, she returned to school. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from DePaul University in 1976 and a Juris Doctor degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 1983.[1]

Burke was admitted to the Illinois bar and federal Northern District of Illinois in 1983, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in 1985.[1] She was certified for the Northern District's trial bar in 1987.[4][1] In 1987, Illinois Governor James R. Thompson appointed her a judge of the Illinois Court of Claims, and she was reappointed by Governor Jim Edgar in 1991.[1] Burke was the first woman to serve on the Illinois Court of Claims. In April 1994, she was appointed special counsel to the Governor for Child Welfare Services. In August 1995, she was appointed to the Appellate Court, First District, and was subsequently elected to that office in 1996.[1] Upon the retirement of Justice Mary Ann McMorrow in 2006, Burke was appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court.[5] She was elected to a full ten-year term in November 2008. She won another ten-year term in her November 2018 retention election.

Burke served on the National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People (NRB), appointed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) of the U.S. Roman Catholic Church. She was interim chair from 2002 to 2004, and was instrumental in conducting the surveys and studies that supported the John Jay Report.[6]

Along with others including Eunice Kennedy, Burke is a founder of the Special Olympics.[7]

Burke chaired the lay National Review Board of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops which investigates accusations of clerical sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic church. She is a Dame of Malta, a Roman Catholic lay religious order.[8]

Anne Burke is married to Alderman Edward M. Burke from the 14th Ward of the Chicago City Council and Chairman of the Committee on Finance. Anne and Edward and his brother Daniel, a member of the Illinois House of Representatives, were named one of Illinois' most influential families by Crain's Chicago Business in 2005.[9]

Initially, the Burkes had four children: Jennifer, Edward Jr., Sarah, and Emmett (1973–2004);[10] They have nine grandchildren.[1]

Travis,[1] a child known in public by his court name "Baby T," was born to a woman suffering from drug addiction. The child's natural mother, Tina Olison, an addict in recovery, sued to regain custody of her child several times in a protracted, highly publicized, and racially charged court battle. The suits ultimately reached the Illinois Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of custody for the Burkes in 2001.[11][12][13][14][15][16]

• Anne Burke Papers, DePaul University Special Collections and Archives
• Anne M. Burke archive at the Chicago Tribune
• Profile at Illinois Courts
• Profile at Judgepedia
• Profile at United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Hahn, Lucinda (November 2009). "Making History: How Anne Burke met Eunice Kennedy Shriver and the Special Olympics began". Chicago Magazine.