I cut my political teeth growing up in Chicagoland during the 50’s and 60’s, when Richard the First held sway over the city. I was 13 before I realized that Mayor Daley was two words, which is why I, like many, felt a certain nostalgic comfort when his son, Richard M. Daley, assumed the 5th floor office in City Hall.  Trust me, after 41 years, for most Chicagoans, it’s hard to say “Mayor” without “Daley.”  It just rolls off the tongue.

Even as votes are still being counted in close races around the country, speculation on reforms to counter the high-cost, special-interest dominated election process is being offered up. Writers at both the Chicago Sun-Times and the Winston-Salem Journal cite the Voters First Pledge, its principles and signers, as showing the way forward.