Independence and transparency.

What’s clear from recent allegations about Democratic Party of Illinois Chair and House Speaker Mike Madigan’s political operations is that Illinois politics and government need open processes and policies for handling claims that truly are independent and transparent.

The current processes and policies simply can’t escape the appearance of corruption. Legislative Ethics Commission members are appointed by powerful legislative leaders, who funnel funding to many lawmakers’ campaigns. Those commissioners then approve, in advance, many of the investigations and subpoenas the Legislative Inspector General can pursue.

But several bipartisan women are organizing and working together to fix that.

Read the rest at the Chicago Sun-Times.