After Bribery Conviction, Developer Charles Cui Lists Lake Forest Home

LAKE FOREST, IL — The Lake Forest real estate developer and immigration attorney who was convicted last month in the trial of corrupt former Chicago Ald. Ed Burke is looking to unload his Lake Forest mansion for $2.5 million.

Charles Cui, 52, was found guilty on five counts, including corruptly agreeing to give something of value, promoting unlawful activity and lying to the FBI.

A federal jury found Cui agreed to steer private legal work to Burke's property tax appeal law firm in exchange for the powerful longtime alderman's assistance with city permitting and tax increment financing, or TIF, money.

Cui's five-bedroom, 8,000-square-foot Ridge Road home was first built in 1985 and subsequently remodeled, according to photos of the property accompanying its listing. The 14-room English-style estate also includes a pool and a tennis court, according to the listing.

According to property records, Cui and his wife, Carley, bought the house for $1.6 million in December 2012.

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In April 2019, federal prosecutors unsealed charges against Cui in connection with his efforts to get a permit for a sign at his property at 4901 W. Irving Park Road in Chicago's Portage Park neighborhood.

The former Bank of America property was to be developed into a Binny's Beverage Depot, a gym, a theater, an arts center and law offices for Cui, an attorney who is not licensed to practice in Illinois.

According to court records, Cui stopped making payments on his mortgage for the property in September 2019.

In August 2020, a Delaware corporation sued Cui in Cook County court, alleging that he owed nearly $13 million on the property, the Chicago Sun-Times reported in 2021.

Then in August 2021, Byline Bank also filed suit against Cui in an effort to get him to pay back more than $400,000.

When Cui took out the loan, his Portage Park property was valued at almost $14 million, but it had fallen to half that as of last year, according to The Real Deal, which reported that the special servicer of the load was awaiting a judge's clearance to take over the property last fall.

In October 2022, the Cuis put their Lake Forest house on the market with an asking price of nearly $3.5 million.

In the subsequent 15 months, they dropped the price five times, re-listing it Tuesday with an asking price just under $2.5 million — nearly 29 percent below its pre-conviction list price.

Listing agent Houda Chedid did not respond to a request for comment from Crain's Chicago Business, which first reported the latest listing.

The most serious charge of which Cui was found guilty faced can be punishable by a maximum of 10 years in prison and the others by up to five — though federal sentencing guidelines will likely see him face far less time behind bars.

At trial, his attorney pointed out that English is not Cui's first language, which he argued could have prompted some kind of misunderstanding.

Attorneys for Cui and the government have until June 3 to submit sentencing recommendations ahead of a sentencing hearing scheduled for June 17.

Earlier: Lake Forest Developer Convicted Of Corruptly Offering Legal Work To Ex-Ald. Ed Burke