In a packed courtroom Friday, a federal judge sentenced disgraced former Chicago police Cmdr. Jon Burge to 4 1/2 years in prison, saying his torture of suspects irreparably damaged the justice system and blasting local, county and federal authorities for not acting sooner.



It was a moment many had awaited for decades. Burge had escaped punishment even though he was long suspected of sending many men to prison for killings they didn't commit.



Federal prosecutors and attorneys who have sued Burge welcomed the sentence, but the wails of one of Burge's alleged victims echoed in the lobby of the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, showing how painful this chapter in Chicago history was for many, especially those in the African-American community.



"It hurt me," said a weeping Mark Clements, an alleged victim of Burge's detectives who was released from prison in 2009 after serving 28 years for murder. "I was 16 years old. I lost all of my life. That's what Jon Burge did."



U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow made it clear she agreed with a federal jury and did not believe Burge when he denied at his trial last summer any knowledge of torture. Burge was convicted of obstruction of justice and perjury for denying in a civil lawsuit that he knew of the abuse.



"The rule of law holds us together as we live out our great social experiment that we call the United States," the judge said. "When a confession is coerced … the administration of justice is undermined irreparably. How can one trust that justice will be served when the justice system has been so defiled?"



In reflecting on the important role police play in a civil society, Lefkow made a rare reference from the bench to the 2005 murder of her husband and mother by a litigant upset with a ruling she had made.



"As you know, I am no stranger to violent crime," she said. "I am deeply indebted to the valiant police officers who, like you did on so many occasions, dedicated themselves to apprehending the persons responsible. Respect is hardly a sufficient word for how I feel about the talent and dedication of the people who helped me and my family in a time of crisis."



But Lefkow condemned the collective failure of police supervisors and state or federal prosecutors to stop Burge, who is alleged to have led a "Midnight Crew" of detectives on the South Side using electric shock, smothering and other torture techniques to force confessions to murders.



"How I wish there had not been such a dismal failure of leadership in the (police) department that it came to this," Lefkow said. "… If others, such as the United States attorney and the (Cook County) state's attorney, had given heed long ago, so much pain could have been avoided."



Lawyers for some of Burge's alleged victims have long criticized Mayor Richard Daley for not investigating Burge when Daley was state's attorney in the 1980s. A Cook County Jail doctor had sent a letter to then-police Superintendent Richard Brzeczek complaining that accused cop killer Andrew Wilson had been beaten and tortured. Brzeczek passed the letter on to Daley.



Daley has said the letter was sent to his office's special prosecutions unit, which he said followed up but was stymied by witnesses who did not cooperate with investigators.



"The judge's ruling was very courageous in … that it made a strong statement … that if in fact the mayor when he was state's attorney had acted, we would never be here today," said Flint Taylor, who has represented many Burge victims. "This case is about much more than Jon Burge, and we've always said that, and this judge found that today."



Federal prosecutors had argued for Lefkow to consider a 30-year sentence for Burge, but U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald celebrated the 4 1/2-year sentence anyway, noting that Lefkow doubled the amount recommended by the federal probation office.



"I think it's important to send a message to people that this sort of thing doesn't happen in civilized society," Fitzgerald said.



Richard Beuke, Burge's attorney, vowed to appeal, saying many of Burge's accusers have records and aren't trustworthy. He said he believed Lefkow was influenced by outside pressure to address the decades of accusations of abuse.



"I think she was called on to try and appease a particular segment of the city," he said.



In her decision, Lefkow weighed the heartbreaking letters she received from those who said Burge tortured them, as well as touching remarks from his family about his dedication to them.



The judge held that both characterizations are likely true. "You are the person you are, neither all good nor all evil, just like the rest of us," she said.



Yet Lefkow concluded that Burge showed an "unwillingness to acknowledge the truth" and might have engaged in the torture because the praise and commendations he received for his work were "seductive."



Lefkow's sentence came after emotional testimony from victims and relatives of Burge's. Earlier Friday, Burge's family described him as a generous and protective brother. They said he was a man deeply affected by the violence he saw on the streets of the tough neighborhoods he worked.



"Jon was a remarkable public servant," said his sister-in-law, Linda Burge. "He opened my eyes and did it with tears in his eyes as he shared stories."



When it came Burge's turn to talk, his voice cracked when he spoke of losing his beloved job in 1993. He apologized for the disrepute the accusations against him brought to the Chicago Police Department. He told Lefkow he would never frame anyone for a crime, knowing that real offenders remained at large. And then he told Lefkow how all this has affected him.



"Judge, I am 63 years old. While I try to keep a proud face, I am a broken man."



asweeney@tribune.com