April 11, 2015
The (Joliet) Herald-News
After election, don’t forget the public
To those who came up short in (the April 7) election, thank you for being willing to serve and putting your name before the voters.
We hope that if circumstances are right in the future, you will try again. Voters benefit from having options; communities benefit when there are multiple people on the ballot putting forth ideas.
Congratulations to those candidates who received enough votes to win. Whether you have been elected for the first time or have won a new term, whether you faced an opponent or not, once your new term begins you will be holders of the public’s trust.
We are still shaking our heads over the dismal voter turnout - just under 15 percent in Will County and just over 13 percent in Grundy County.
Why more voters don’t realize they hold power by voting, and refuse to cast a ballot, continues to baffle us. We hope future elections include more participation - both through people running for office so more races are contested, and voters coming out to elect them.
For those about to assume office, do not forget how you came to hold it - through a public vote. We want to remind those who did win and will soon be serving on boards and councils of public entities that their responsibility is to those who cast the ballots and pay the taxes.
We encourage Tuesday’s victors to embrace transparency as they take office, and not err on the side of secrecy. You shouldn’t prefer to make decisions out of public view, or serve your own agendas, rather than those that most benefit the citizens whom you serve.
Winning this election has not made you members of a private club. Only in rare circumstances should secrets be kept from the public. They’ve chosen you to serve on their behalf, but they still have the right to understand what their government is doing, and to be heard when they disagree with its course.
Few in public life succeed in pleasing everyone all the time. That’s OK. Those who are open, honest, and willing to listen to others’ point of view can earn the respect even of those with whom they disagree.
In the end, the governments that those who were elected Tuesday will help to run are local governments - they’re funded by and exist to serve them and their neighbors.
The decisions made by those who were elected Tuesday will affect their neighbors. We wish all those who were elected - and any of the write-in candidates yet to learn if they have been elected - good luck in their coming terms of office.
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April 10, 2015
The (Champaign) News-Gazette
Rahm’s Act II
Leaders of Chicago’s political establishment beat back a challenge to their authority.
Now that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been re-elected, he can resume being the same jerk he’s always been.
Emanuel won re-election Tuesday, collecting 56 percent of the vote against Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia. His solid victory came after an embarrassing failure to collect 50 percent of the vote in a February primary. That setback was a shock to the incumbent, to the point that Emanuel temporarily set aside his natural hubris and struck a humble media profile designed to fool voters into believing this leopard had changed his spots.
But Emanuel is what he is, a veteran pol who revels in his “Rahmfather” reputation and enjoys bullying, demeaning and threatening those lower than him on the totem pole.
Unfortunately for Chicagoans, the election provided voters the ultimate Hobson’s Choice, one candidate who is trying, but struggling, to avoid bankruptcy for Chicago and the other apparently oblivious to the fact that his policies would have guaranteed it.
Chicago, like Illinois, is in deep financial trouble. A recent National Journal article entitled “Broken City” revealed the depths of the city’s financial woes and the serious political problems that must be overcome to avoid catastrophe.
So it’s for the best, using that description advisedly, that Emanuel will remain in charge. Although an opportunist of the worst sort, he at least can read a balance sheet and understands that his city, one of the world’s great cities, stands on the precipice of financial conflagration.
By Illinois government standards, that’s good news.
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April 10, 2015
The (DeKalb) Daily Chronicle
Pulling together in tragedy’s aftermath
Our hearts go out to those who lost their property or worse, their loved ones, as a result of Thursday’s tornadoes.
Photos taken from the air show familiar devastation, reminiscent of the disaster that befell Washington, Illinois, in November 2013. The scale may be smaller in Fairdale and the Rochelle area, but for those who call the tornado-stricken areas home, it is no less devastating.
It is easy to feel powerless in the face of such tragedy. Sadly, we were all powerless to stop the storm that cut a path across northern Illinois, moving from the Dixon area northeast to Fairdale and Kirkland on Thursday.
But today is a new day, and although the damage cannot be undone, we are not helpless. Helping, in whatever way we can, is something all of us can do.
Already there have been drives to collect gift cards and cleaning supplies for those in need. People also can help by donating to relief agencies such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army. No doubt there will be a cleanup effort ahead, although it is too soon for such an undertaking because the area remains dangerous, authorities say.
It is important to help in ways that are appropriate and needed. The outpouring of community generosity led officials to notify the public that rescue workers had no further need for supplies or perishable food items on Friday, although they may well need them in the future.
Still, we hope that the outpouring of support can show those who have been through this tragedy that they are not alone. Our community - in DeKalb County and beyond - wants to help.
The kindness of strangers is small recompense for the losses that many have suffered. Forces of nature cannot be stopped, and tornadoes are a possibility anywhere in DeKalb County. But now that tragedy has struck, we can help our neighbors. After all, it is what any of us would hope for if tragedy were to befall us.
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April 8, 2015
The (Springfield) State Journal-Register
Troubled justice system needs innocence watchdogs
Few modern advances have turned America’s criminal justice system on its head quite like DNA testing of evidence from crimes such as murders and sexual assaults.
This scientific advancement, which developed in the mid-1980s, has enabled police and courts to arrest and convict criminals who might otherwise have gotten away with their misdeeds. Just as importantly, it has exonerated hundreds of innocent people who were locked up for crimes they never committed.
The growing number of exonerations nationwide is evidence that organizations like the Illinois Innocence Project are, and will continue to be, a critical part of a justice system that clearly is fallible.
Countless statistics about wrongful convictions, racial bias and America’s affinity for incarceration bear out the need for innocence projects and criminal justice reforms in Illinois and nationwide.
The United States has the largest prison system of any developed country in the world. A 2013 study by the Pew Research Center showed that black men in America are six times as likely as white men to be incarcerated. The study also showed a widening income and wealth gap between black men and white men.
According to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the number of prisoners in America quadrupled from 1980 to 2008, from about 500,000 people to 2.3 million people - of which 1 million are black.
The deck is stacked against many Americans through race, wealth, education and access to defense resources. Without one or more of those things on a person’s side, the benefit of doubt diminishes and prison becomes a very real possibility, as stories have shown time and again.
In addition, justice can fall victim to sheer human error, funding gaps that affect police resources and public defenders’ manpower, and lagging legislative initiatives that could help address problems and head off wrongful convictions.
For example, in Illinois, there is no statewide requirement that DNA evidence be preserved under any particular conditions once a court case is completed. As a result, bloody clothing or weapons in some counties may be tossed carelessly into bags and placed in dusty store rooms without climate control, causing DNA to deteriorate and making post-conviction analysis difficult, if not impossible.
Illinois also has a poor track record statewide when it comes to investigating sexual assaults. A 2010 study suggested as many as 80 percent of rape kits in the state have gone unexamined. Many coroners or medical examiners lack training to detect evidence of sexual assault.
None of the shortcomings and statistics is news to John Hanlon, executive director of the Illinois Innocence Project.
“This system makes mistakes. We know that now,” he recently told The State Journal-Register editorial board.
The goal, of course, is for everyone involved in the system to get it right, every step of the way. No one should be locked up for a crime they didn’t commit.
But with so many documented failures throughout, it’s critical that there are watchdogs like the Illinois Innocence Project to be a voice for the wrongfully convicted and to champion the American principle of justice for all.
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