Good morning, Chicago.

Our city and state have a long, unfortunate history of corruption committed by elected officials. We rely on the feds to uncover and prosecute this criminal dereliction of duty. Consider the recent trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, initially led by a Donald Trump-appointed U.S. attorney. That prosecutor's office has been adrift for two years now and is no longer a leader in indictments per judgeship. In response, the Tribune Editorial Board today issues a plea for a “reinvigorated” U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago that will keep that mission going.

In its second piece, the editorial board has a question for Southwest Airlines, no longer a standout for customer-friendly practices: Why the stunning turnaround?

Elsewhere in Tribune Opinion, our columnist Laura Washington has a “Moonstruck” slap to give to national Democrats reeling over a party in crisis. Her message? Snap out of it and take action to find your way home. And a Boston University dean sounds the alarm over the imperiling of the humanities in our current climate. As the holder of an English literature degree, I can attest that society would be lost without students committing to these branches of knowledge.

Also, we have a double-size offering of letters for your edification. Our readers are passionate people.

Thank you as always for reading. We’ll be back tomorrow.

— Colleen Kujawa, opinion editor

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