Crisis in the Catholic Church

Justice Anne M. Burke is a member of the Illinois Supreme Court's First Judicial District. She was appointed to the Supreme Court on July 6, 2006 and was elected in 2008. Prior to joining the Supreme Court, Justice Burke was appointed to the Appellate Court in 1995 and was elected the following year to the appellate bench where she served until July 5, 2006. Her judicial career began earlier, in 1987, with an appointment to the Illinois Court of Claims by Governor Jim Thompson. She was later reappointed by Governor Jim Edgar. Before serving on the Illinois Appellate Court, Justice Burke provided in-depth leadership in reshaping and improving the Illinois juvenile justice system. Governor Jim Edgar appointed her Special Counsel for Child Welfare Services, and made her a member of his Legislative Committee on Juvenile Justice.

As a member of the Illinois Supreme Court, Justice Burke is a frequent speaker and panelist before many civic and local bar associations. For more than two years, serving as Interim Chair, she directed the efforts of the National Review Board of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops investigating the causes and effects of the clerical sexual abuse scandal and helped to establish guidelines and policies for effectively responding to this scandal. She currently serves on the Executive Steering Committee of Kennedy Forum Illinois.

Justice Burke is married to Chicago Alderman Edward M. Burke and they have five children: Edward Jr., Jennifer, the late Emmett, Sarah and Travis, and nine grandchildren.

Robert S. Bennett is a former federal prosecutor and a leading member of the defense bar. Bennett is renowned in his field as an exceptional trial lawyer who has handled numerous high-profile cases and has represented corporations and individuals, including corporate directors and officers, in criminal, civil, SEC enforcement, and congressional matters. Bennett has been listed repeatedly in various publications as one of the nation’s most influential and successful litigators.

Bennett has co-chaired several American Bar Association National Institute programs on the defense of corporations and their officers in parallel grand jury and administrative agency investigations. He has written and lectured on complex criminal and civil matters, and crisis management issues. He also is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, an elite organization of the country’s leading trial lawyers.

Kathleen McChesney held unique leadership positions in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Catholic Bishops’ Conference and The Walt Disney Company before establishing Kinsale Management Consulting. She served in many leadership positions in the FBI, heading its field offices in Chicago, Illinois and Portland, Oregon and the FBI’s International Training Academy, before being appointed as an Executive Assistant Director - the Bureau’s third highest position. Earlier in her career detective with the King County Police in Seattle, Washington, she and her partners conducted a multi-year, national investigation of serial-killer Ted Bundy.  Later, as an FBI Special Agent,  she conducted and directed investigations in the areas of organized crime, public corruption and terrorism.

Dr. McChesney was selected by the United States Catholic Bishops’ Conference to establish and lead their Office of Child Protection where she developed and adminstered a national compliance mechanism to ensure that all Catholic dioceses complied with civil laws and internal policies relative to the prevention, reporting and response to the sexual abuse of minors. She coordinated a major research study into the nature and scope of the problem of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and published and lectured frequently on the issue of sexual abuse of minors in religious institutions. Dr. McChesney is the co-author/co-editor of two books: Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church: A Decade of Crisis (2012); and Pick Up Your Own Brass: Leadership the FBI Way (2010).

Dr. McChesney serves on the Safety Advisory Council for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and co-chaired the National Advisory Council of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men from 2014 - 2017. She currently leads Kinsale Management Consulting.