On Nov. 1 a federal judge decided to end decades-long patronage hiring oversight of the Cook County assessor’s office. Cronyism and patronage remain in Illinois, despite some government offices escaping federal court oversight.

After decades under Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s rule, Illinois is corroding from his concentration of power. Robust ethics laws, rules and norms could stop a new Madigan from rising.

Pritzker infamously removed toilets from his Gold Coast mansion in what the Cook County inspector general called a “scheme to defraud” taxpayers.

The probe potentially opens up a new front in authorities’ investigation of House Speaker Mike Madigan: the property tax appeals game from which he has made millions.

Government corruption is nothing new for Illinoisans. Illinois is the second-most corrupt state in the nation, according to research by the University of Illinois-Chicago. And corruption costs the state economy more than $550 million per year. What is new? Powerful Illinois lawmakers, Chicago aldermen, local mayors and business interests are involved in what appears to be...

The Democratic nominee in the Cook County assessor’s race is voicing support for a ban on city aldermen doubling as property tax appeals attorneys, an arrangement that encourages conflicts of interest.

Countywide elected officials would be barred from working as registered lobbyists or owning a lobbying firm under a new bill in the General Assembly.