Thanks, aldermen (Editorial)

Chicago aldermen are writhing like toddlers frantic to avoid their vaccination shots. They're twisting in every way imaginable to avoid something they've dodged for decades: serious scrutiny from the city's inspector general. If you've wondered how to evaluate City Council members who'll stand for re-election early next year, be grateful. You'll learn more about your alderman's sense of ethics from this one vote than from any other single position he or she has taken.

Thanks, aldermen. Citizens will have an easy time seeing who's committed to openness and honesty versus who wants to stick with the current aldermanic protection program.

On Tuesday, a council committee voted 22-4 to create a legislative inspector general to do what the city's current inspector general cannot: investigate allegations of wrongdoing by aldermen. The measure now goes to the full council, which desperately hopes its passage will halt discussions of aldermanic ethics.