From Our President

So long as the governor is considering a change to the Illinois Constitution, he should not stop with just one.

Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot’s first priority must be wrangling the city’s fiscal mess.

Flyers that cropped up last weekend, featuring broadsides against mayoral finalist Lori Lightfoot’s sexuality, reflect the tradition of dirty politics in Chicago. But in comparison with the ugly race baiting that surfaced during Harold Washington’s 1983 mayoral run, maybe we’ve come a long way.

To be an effective leader, mayoral candidate Lori Lightfoot says in an interview with BGA president David Greising, “You have to have a very clear sense of where your North Star is.”

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has talked a lot about taking a bipartisan approach to governing Illinois. He’ll do well if he puts it into practice.

Racial bias — even ‘soft bias’ — is not harmless. For many African-Americans in Chicago, the Chicago Police Department consent decree offers hope that their interactions with police may improve.

The new governor so far has shown little tendency toward fiscal austerity, and initial moves like the catch-up on union pay hikes and a privately funded boost to his staff’s salaries both seem to augur more spending ahead.

Chicago mayoral candidate Bill Daley proposed a bold plan to shrink the City Council from 50 to 15 aldermen. Would it help end corruption?

The execs on the receiving end of Ed Burke’s alleged shakedown attempt delayed and deflected the alderman’s unyielding pressure, coming off as part brave, part stubborn and just crafty enough to stay one step ahead of him.

Burke’s multiple conflicts of interest were tolerated for decades by mayors, voters, council members, reporters and even good-government advocates. And that’s because — well, that’s just the way it has been. The Chicago way.