Policy

In Chicago, the term “police brutality” is inextricably linked to former Cmdr. Jon Burge’s sadistic South Side homicide squad, which imposed extreme measures, including torture, to extract false confessions from dozens of suspects.

In the end, a balanced, transparent process serves everyone fairly — the cops, the incarcerated, and the families of the victims — and that should be the goal of this commission.

We’ve heard even louder calls for term limits from a restive electorate, and seen new polls reaffirming its appeal.

Thankfully, we have a lot of allies in our fight against this “obesity epidemic” — lawmakers, civic groups and a few government entities themselves that are downsizing their delivery of public services.

Last week’s column on civic “disengagement” — my term for the millions of Illinois residents who aren’t registered to vote in Tuesday’s primary, or won’t bother to cast a ballot even if they are eligible —prompted interesting emails from readers who are definitely engaged.

America’s first National Voter Registration Day came and went last September with the visibility and impact of a gnat on an elephant’s back.

The Chicago Fire Department is a city agency the Better Government Association watches closely, and with good reason — emergency work saves lives when it’s done well, and imperils them when it’s not.