Andy Shaw

As we head into the final innings, the box score indicates the General Assembly is playing “small ball”—moving ahead on bills aimed at eliminating a few more unnecessary units of government, expanding transparency, increasing civic engagement, and improving the criminal justice system.

Investigative reporters and groups like the Better Government Association watch from the outside, but someone—preferably an independent inspector general with broad powers— should be watching from the inside.

Police brutality leaves two victims in its violent wake: Physically abused suspects, who obviously suffer the most painful injuries; and taxpayers, who take a financial beating when government is ordered to compensate targets of excessive force.

The editors who lay out the Sun-Times totally nailed it last Monday when they filled most of the front page with a color photo of a man bodysurfing in tropical Australian waters while we were getting whacked by a swirling, snarling, way-too-typical spring snowstorm.

We invited the candidates to share their governing philosophies, including views on privatizing city assets and services, the scope and authority of an inspector general, and compliance with FOIA— the state’s open records law.

Legions of public officials bend the rules without being detected or held accountable because there aren’t enough watchdogs shining a light on their alleged chicanery.

Under Jones’ plan, lawmakers would be able to annually award four one-year scholarships, and two four-year free rides to public colleges and universities in Illinois.

Government should be a service — not a family business — in Glendale Heights, and every other public venue funded with our tax dollars.

It’s a “must read” for anyone interested in a definitive account of the public thievery — the “culture of corruption” — that’s permeated the everyday workings of government, robbing regular citizens of their hard-earned tax dollars, depriving them of honest services, and eroding their civic pride.

Watchdogs rely on Illinois’ Freedom of Information Act to obtain most public records, which enables us to shine a light on government and hold officials accountable for the way they spend our tax dollars and make policy decisions that affect our lives.