Editorial Roundup: Illinois

Arlington Heights Daily Herald. March 3, 2022.

Editorial: Legislature will have to take up COVID

COVID-19 is in retreat in the suburbs and in much of Illinois, thank goodness, and mask mandates have been lifted.

What remains unclear, however, is whether our state government will have the tools it needs in the unhappy event of another serious variant, or new virus, that invades our lives and endangers our population.

Mandates put in place by Gov. J.B. Pritzker through the Illinois Department of Public Health have been the bandages we've used for nearly two years to save lives in the COVID crisis. They have put public pressure on people who don't care who they infect, and moreover, emphasized the real danger to human well-being from the virus.

It's fair to say they have worked pretty well, depending on where in Illinois you live. There is no doubt they have saved lives.

But a vehement anti-mask contingent in Illinois has worked to discredit the mandates and will continue to oppose them in the event of another COVID-19 surge. We had a narrow escape earlier this month, when the Sangamon County Circuit Court on Feb. 4 agreed with plaintiffs who argued in a lawsuit that the mask mandates were akin to a 'œquarantine,'ť and issued a temporary restraining order to block the state from enforcing mandates in schools.

The Illinois Supreme Court last Friday vacated that TRO, a big relief to people worried about the next virus. However, it was vacated not on the merits of the argument but because it no long mattered ... the mandates had been effectively canceled on Feb. 15 when the state's Joint Committee on Administrative Rules voted not to renew them after they had expired two days prior.

Maintaining public health in Illinois is critical. Much in the same way we are outlawed from shooting each other or dumping our sewage in the public water supply, we need our leaders to be able to impose reasonable but effective rules that prevent people from causing illness or death in others by exposing them to disease.

Inevitably that duty must fall to the state legislature to put to bed the notion that mask mandates are quarantines and stave off other pitfalls that might get in the way of state government working to keep the people safe.

We do not envy them. Masks are a 'œthird rail'ť in politics right now, and even citizens who agree they were necessary are weary of them. Moreover, the disturbing level of threats of violence -- to legislators, school board members and others -- makes it clear the subject is fraught with real danger.

Failure to provide real clarity about the specific responsibilities and authority vested in leaders -- whether they be the governor, the courts or government health authorities -- leaves room for controversy that politicizes health care and diminishes the ability of officials to react. Getting this done is right for Illinois, as well as its present -- and future -- leadership, and the legislature should take advantage of our currently improving circumstances to do it.

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Chicago Tribune. March 3, 2022.

Editorial: The day of Michael Madigan's indictment finally came. Voters, now's the time to demand reform.

No one embodied what's wrong with Illinois politics more than Michael Madigan. Political supremacy incarnate, he was unparalleled in his ability to remain on top and unscathed as governors and lawmakers came and went - on occasion, headed to jail.

Through the years, Illinois' fiscal outlook bottomed out, a pension crisis metastasized, ethics reform languished - and yet Madigan endured.

Now Madigan, retired from lawmaking since early last year, stands indicted. The 79-year-old former House speaker who served in the General Assembly for five decades is accused of turning his state office into a criminal enterprise for his own personal gain. The racketeering charges against him allege a variety of extortion and bribery schemes stretching from 2011 to 2019 that yielded favors and cash for Madigan and his associates.

Madigan vowed to fight the charges. 'œI adamantly deny these accusations and look back proudly on my time as an elected official, serving the people of Illinois,'ť he said in a statement released Wednesday. He will have his day in court, beginning with his scheduled arraignment March 9 in U.S. District Court. Joining him will be longtime confidant, Michael McClain, a former state lawmaker and lobbyist who also faces charges in connection with an alleged bribery scheme involving Commonwealth Edison.

In a perfect world, Madigan's indictment would signal the start of a new era in state politics, where there's no quarter given to corrupt pols, where the public trust isn't just a phrase in a campaign pamphlet, but an ideal guiding the service of every state officeholder. But, over the decades, Springfield has been anything but a guarantor of the public trust. If anything Illinois politics has shown itself to be a primer on how to poison the public trust.

We've been here before. An icon in state or Chicago politics gets indicted, and a clarion call for change emerges. And then after the dust settles, politicians scour for new ways to skirt whatever new anti-corruption initiatives have been enacted. There's a reason why Illinois is ranked the third most corrupt state in the nation on a per capita basis. It's not just that too many city and state politicians view public service as the means to inflate their bank accounts and oversize sense of entitlement. It's that for far too long, Illinoisans have done nothing to prevent their actions.

Madigan is a prime example. For years, the Tribune, and in particular this editorial board, rang alarm bells about Madigan's corrosive, damaging leadership in Springfield. We have written many times about the former House speaker's failings - the bloated budgets he pushed through that sunk Illinois deeper into debt; a sexual harassment scandal involving one of his top lieutenants; and finally, the burgeoning ComEd scandal that ultimately played a major role in his indictment this week.

And yet, constituents of the Illinois House 22nd District kept sending Madigan back to the General Assembly. Illinois Democrats shrugged and allowed him to remain party king and kingmaker. He clung to his post as speaker until January 2021, when it became clear he didn't have the votes to stay. For that, Illinoisans can thank what is known in Springfield circles as 'œThe 19,'ť a group of House Democrats who stood up to business as usual and led the effort to end his reign as House speaker.

'œWe knew that our chamber, our state and our party deserved better leadership and the unfolding corruption scandal would only continue to erode public confidence,'ť the 19 House Democrats wrote in a statement released Wednesday.

Their stance was exceptional, but it also remains the exception in Springfield, where all too often ethics in politics is practiced only when convenient to do so. Lawmakers eviscerated the post of legislative inspector general, prompting the previous person in the job, Carol Pope, to label the office 'œa paper tiger.'ť In her resignation letter last summer, she wrote, 'œI thought I could be useful in improving the public's view of the legislature and help bring about true ethics reform. Unfortunately, I have not been able to do so. This last legislative session demonstrated true ethics reform is not a priority. The LIG has no real power to effect change or shine a light on ethics violations.'ť

Perhaps Illinoisans have been living with corruption in state politics for so long that they've become hopelessly inured to it. Indeed, Illinois' seedy timeline of corruption stretches back decades. There's Paul Powell, Illinois secretary of state from 1965 to 1970, who stashed in a shoe box wads of cash amassed from bribes he received in exchange for doling out sweetheart contracts to cronies. GOP Gov. George Ryan went to jail on federal corruption charges. So did Rod Blagojevich, the former Democratic governor who was serving a 14-year prison term until Donald Trump commuted his sentence.

And on and on.

'œI think we all shake our heads sometimes when we think that there's another corruption case that's happening,'ť U.S. Attorney John Lausch said in announcing the charges against Madigan. 'œAnd that's why I define our problem as a very stubborn one.'ť

Stubborn, yes. Without remedy? No.

A whiff of serendipity accompanies the Madigan indictment. It's likely to be fresh on the minds of Illinoisans when they head to the polls later this year to decide a raft of state races, from governor to House and Senate contests. Adherence to ethics reform should be a top prerequisite for voters deciding who to send to the state Capitol. No more pay-to-play, no more patronage. Opacity in state budgeting must become a thing of the past. We have a phrase for how Madigan and lawmakers in general have always viewed taxpayer dollars: 'œOther People's Money.'ť They've had no qualms about sinking hard-earned taxpayer revenue into irresponsible over-borrowing that paid for pet projects.

Lawmakers and other officeholders who put themselves, their allies and their pocketbooks first and Illinoisans second should start packing their bags. The 'œpublic trust'ť isn't some academic concept with little practical value. It's real. It has to be earned. And it should be bestowed by voters onto politicians with a stern reminder:

You're there in Springfield because we put you there. Start reforming, because we have the power to boot you out.

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Chicago Sun-Times. March 3, 2022.

Editorial: Dr. Ngozi Ezike served as steady medical guide for Illinoisans during pandemic

For the last two years, Dr. Ngozi Ezike stood her ground, unrelenting in relaying - sometimes in tears - how crucial it was to mask up, stay indoors and get vaccinated.

She has been a steady force of clarity and an empathetic voice during a frightening, unprecedented time.

For the last two years, Dr. Ngozi Ezike dispensed sound advice and tips on how Illinoisans could protect themselves from COVID-19 amid the pandemonium and avalanche of misinformation coming from all directions.

But she stood her ground, unrelenting in relaying - sometimes in tears - how crucial it was to mask up, stay indoors and get vaccinated.

Ezike, who is stepping down as the state's public health director later this month, will go down in history for changing Illinois 'œfor the better,'ť Gov. J.B. Pritzker said as he declared March 1 'œDr. Ngozi Ezike Day.'ť

Indeed.

Almost three-quarters of eligible Illinoisans have gotten their initial COVID-19 vaccine shots and more than half of Illinois residents received booster shots under Ezike's watch.

Ezike has been a rock since she stood by Pritzker during the state's first coronavirus briefing when the stay-at-home-order was implemented in March 2020.

While then-President Donald Trump's administration made 'œdeliberate efforts'ť to undermine the country's response to the deadly pandemic, Ezike was among the nation's leaders to stick with scientific facts.

'œPolitics and pandemics don't seem to go well together,'ť the Harvard educated doctor once noted.

When Trump would go out of his way to appear in public without a face covering in 2020 and other elected officials and residents here followed suit, Ezike asked for the masks to stay on. She further instructed that we refrain from hugging our loved ones and shaking hands.

When restrictions were eased last summer and vaccines were readily available, Ezike gently reminded us that we weren't out of the woods and encouraged the unvaccinated to get a jab as soon as possible.

Throughout it all, Ezike remained compassionate, mourning Illinois' 32,000-plus COVID-19-related deaths.

The situation could have been much more grim without the direction of Ezike, who appeared in over 160 briefings with the governor.

More lives could have been lost and it could have taken the state longer to lift its indoor mask mandate as Pritzker did earlier this week.

As the Omicron strain waned last month, Ezike reminded Illinoisans that the coronavirus isn't going anywhere. The state will always be finding ways to 'œcoexist with COVID,'ť said Ezike, the first Black woman to lead the state's top health agency.

In announcing her resignation Tuesday, Ezike said, 'œI am so blessed to have been able to bring some measure of comfort to Illinoisans, to quiet some of the chaos and infuse some calm.'ť

The residents of Illinois should feel equally fortunate to have had Ezike as a medical guide during the first 24-months of this devastating international health crisis.

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