It’ll be up to a jury to determine whether, fostered by a sense of impunity and absolute power, former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan broke any laws. Madigan may become another member of the legislature-to-prison pipeline club in Illinois. Sadly, it’s not a very exclusive club.
If nothing else, this trial shows some laws hold corrupt politicians accountable. But we need more. Reforms that encourage better representation, that put more checks and balances in place to hold power accountable, and shine a light for all to see on those doing the people’s business. It is not enough to prosecute the bad apples. We need to chop down this rotten apple tree — and that starts with the rules in place that govern how and whom we elect to office.
These new laws can include campaign finance reform that limits the influence of corporations and wealthy individuals and encourages politicians to seek small-dollar donations from their constituents. It can also include ranked-choice voting, which eliminates the need for runoff elections with notoriously low turnout ripe for special interest capture. It can include a redistricting process that mandates community input.
In Illinois, those in the good government business have our work cut out for us. As four out of our last 10 governors could tell you, there are laws holding them accountable. There are courts that will convict, prisons that will hold them. It goes beyond laws. Illinois has a culture of politicians working for themselves instead of for the people.
Cynics may claim that this is just how politicians are, but policy choices can, at the very least, restrict selfish impulses of people in power. Ideally, they go further, fostering the growth of new leaders, ones who come from and represent the diverse communities of their city and state. Ones who are motivated not by individual power, but by community power. This cultural change is fed and nurtured by laws.
If we’d like to stop being the butt of the joke, Illinois needs to get serious about true reforms — for lobbyists, elected officials, campaign finance and more.
Elizabeth Grossman, executive director, Common Cause Illinois
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Do the math, CTU
Two reports last week revealed the vast difference between the evaluation skills of Chicago Teachers Union leadership and that of charter schools.
On Oct. 9, Acero Schools CEO Richard Rodriguez announced the June 2025 closure of seven schools, primarily in Latino areas. His reasoning was sound. He cited these factors, according to the Sun-Times: an enrollment decline of 1,400 students over eight years, Chicago’s dwindling population and increases in costs for staff and building maintenance. Town hall meetings will be held every month to update the community, Acero leaders said.
In contrast, another report on Chicago Public Schools revealed that one-third of Chicago schools are enrolled at half capacity or lower. Yet CTU’s Stacy Davis Gates wrote a letter to CPS leadership suggesting that it add to the existing problem by absorbing the under-enrolled charter schools. With so many Chicago-area colleges and universities, surely someone in a CTU leadership position can take a class in financial management.
Chris and Bill Craven, Evergreen Park
Support for CEO Pedro Martinez
¡No te dejes, CEO Pedro!
Recently, CTU President Stacy Davis Gates referred to Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez as a “clown show,” for allegedly not having a budget plan. Mayor Brandon Johnson denies he asked Martinez to resign, yet the mayor consistently deflects questions about support for the CEO by referring to his vision for sustainable schools, and he does not include Martinez.
We finally heard the CEO speak directly on this matter when he was interviewed recently. In April, he proposed to use TIF funds to balance the CPS budget which included the pension payment, the contract for SEIU-73, the proposed raises for CTU and for the Chicago Principals & Administrators Association. That does not sound like a clown show and it makes me wonder why CTU continues to villainize him. Ironically, that same idea was recently pitched by CTU and framed as the “revenue recovery package.”
We know very little about Pedro. He graduated from Juarez High School in Pilsen when it was a hub for Mexican grassroots activism, which included the fight against segregated schools and organizing to build Benito Juarez High School in the 1970s. Pedro’s from “la diez y ocho,” Pilsen, one of the first large Mexican communities in Chicago.
According to a recent study by the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois Chicago, from 2018 to 2022 Mexicans and Mexican Americans were the largest cultural group in CPS at 131,597 students, and in 2022, Mexicans and Mexican Americans were 21.5% of the city’s population. Pedro is one of us. Pedro es Chicago.
Martinez has repeatedly said that his contract is clear — Mayor Johnson needs cause to fire him and he doesn’t have it. The mayor and the CTU need to be held to account for trying to oust a seemingly high-performing CEO, the first Latino CEO in the majority-Latino school district, without cause. They need to come clean about why they are willing to destabilize CPS to remove him. Otherwise, Johnson and the CTU are the ones creating the circus and disrespecting our community.
Gabriel Alejandro Cortez, Ph.D., professor, Northeastern Illinois University
What about firefighters’ contract?
This is probably not as attention-grabbing as all the drama surrounding CPS and the CTU, but Chicago’s firefighters and paramedics are now 3-1/2 years without a contract.
John McClorey, South Loop