A recent Chicago Tribune article confirms that the Don Harmon case isn't just about one powerful legislator testing the limits of campaign finance law; it's also about an oversight system compromised by its own conflicts of interest. According to the Tribune , two Democratic members of the Illinois State Board of Elections who repeatedly voted to block nearly $9.8 million  in recommended fines against Harmon have direct ties to major donors who gave above-limit contributions

When politics turns into a family business and public office becomes a private asset, ordinary people pay the bill. Illinois has earned its reputation as one of America's corruption capitals not because of a few "bad apples," but because of a well-oiled system: backroom deals, fake candidates, strategic resignations, and campaign-finance shell games that protect insiders and shut out voters. This isn't abstract; it shows up in your property tax bill, in what your city pays fo