Thirty years ago Aug. 8, the Chicago Cubs played their first game under lights at Wrigley Field – after first battling Chicago politicians for the right to do so.

A petition to repeal Illinois’ fireworks ban has garnered more than 7,000 signatures, as lawmakers in the General Assembly throw their support behind a bill that would do just that.

Next year, state lawmakers should explore making rockets’ red glare a legal pastime instead of a liability.

Illinoisans shouldn’t have to wait for yet another humiliating scandal to fix what’s wrong here: Politicians should have no place in policing their own oversight.