22 | CHICAGO SUN-TIMES | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

CHICAGO

JACK HIGGINS OPINION

WE THINK
John Barron Publisher Tom McNamee Editorial Page Editor Don Hayner Editor in Chief Andrew Herrmann Managing Editor

A N I N D E P E N D E N T N E W S PA P E R

ov. Pat Quinn, was right to pull the plug Monday on legislation that would have rewired future power bills for Illinois consumers. The bill had too many plums for power utilities and too few for ratepayers. ComEd and its Downstate counterpart, Ameren Corp., are pushing a $2.6 billion plan for a so-called smart grid they say could save $2.8 billion over 20 years for ComEd customers alone. Along with upgrades to the existing power system, the smart grid would use new technology to improve efficiency. It would use smart meters to allow customers to monitor their own energy use. And its direct usage feedback to the utilities would cut down on theft, allow faster cut-off of service for non-payment, virtually eliminate manual meter reading and provide for other cost-saving efficiencies. A more efficient power grid could benefit the entire regions economy. But as part of the deal for a smart grid, ComEd and Ameren also are seeking changes in the states regulatory process that could wind up costing customers. Doug Scott, chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission

ComEd smart grid bill needs rewiring

which historically has been responsible for guarding against excessive utility rate hikes has called the proposal a very bad bill for consumers. Any undertaking as big as redesigning a power grid entails risk as well as holding the promise of more efficiency. But the utilities want to rewrite the law to ensure profits even if the new system doesnt work as advertised. What happens if smart grid savings and improvement in reliability dont materialize? Consumers shouldnt be left holding the bag. On Monday, ComEd called its proposal a jobs bill, an economic development bill, an environmental bill, a consumer benefits bill, a regulatory reform bill and an infrastructure bill. But at a press conference, Quinn, joined by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, called the measure a sweetheart deal. The utilities have the option of going back to the Legislature to seek an override of Quinns veto. But we hope that instead they will revise their proposal through new legislation that preserves the states ability to regulate rate increases, ensuring that utilities and consumers alike share in potential risks as well as rewards.

Alvarez needs to keep campaign vow

CAROL MARIN
his buddies were hitting the bars on Division Street in the wee hours of April 25, 2004, when they ran into a slightly older group, including Richard R. J. Vanecko, the nephew of former mayor Richard M. Daley, who was partying with other young Daley family friends. Everyone had been drinking. Words were exchanged. One punch was thrown. Koschman, small in stature, was hit, his head crashing onto the street. Vanecko, described as the tallest and largest in the crowd, fled with a friend. (Not until this year did Chicago Police acknowledge he threw the punch.) The Daley friends did not give police Vaneckos name until many days later. By that time, David Koschman was dead. While R.J. Vanecko undoubtedly did not mean to kill David Koschman, this case was not handled like a normal police matter. We know that thanks to the relentless reporting of the Sun-Times Tim Novak and Chris Fusco who, in the last nine months, have uncovered missing police files, omissions of critical information that were crossed out of a detectives notes, and the unbelievable absence of any record, notation, or log entry at the Cook County states attorneys office memorializing prosecutors involvement in the case even though it had been asked to consult with police. Newly obtained Chicago Police reports show Detective Ronald Yawger arranged interview w/ Victims friends & ASA on May 18, 2004. That ASA was Assistant States Attorney and Felony Review chief Darren OBrien. It is amazing that the states attorneys office has not one record of it especially because OBrien would personally interview witnesses two days later. Alvarez initially argued our SunTimes reporting was unfair to her. And then she said she would turn the matter over to the Illinois State Police without mentioning that the No. 2 man in her investigations bureau was just about to be named the head of the State Police. A conflict of interest even a first-year law student would spot. The State Police, properly, took a pass. The only independent investigator on this case, at the moment, is Chicago Inspector General Joseph Ferguson. And he, unlike Alvarez, has no power to convene a grand jury. Alvarez needs to affirm the promise she made during her first campaign: that she is not an old school pol defending the status quo. She needs to ask the chief judge of Cook Countys criminal courts to appoint a special prosecutor with grand jury powers and no conflicts of interest with her office to get to the bottom of this awful case. It would make a powerful campaign commercial.

cmarin@suntimes.com

Research tool helps rate schools

shows matter most in advancing student learning. Shunning a singular focus on test scores, the consortium looked at the conditions, known as essential elements, that make for quality schools such as ambitious instruction and family and community ties and surveyed teachers and students on how well their schools measured in those areas. Consortium research shows that schools strong in those five essential elements are 10 times more likely to improve in reading and math than weak schools. Find the school reports at: www. ccsrsurvey.uchicago.edu/2011/

powerful new tool for Chicago public school parents and staff is now just a click away. As of Tuesday, a treasure trove of data on nearly every school is online for the first time for parents and educators to use to evaluate and improve their schools. And best of all, the data isnt put out by the school system or anyone else with a stake in making CPS look good (or bad, if you are pushing for a longer school day). The site features 608 individual school reports produced by the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research that assess schools in five areas that research

ook County States Attorney Anita Alvarez says shes running for re-election. And though some names of possible opponents are being tossed around former Inspector General David Hoffman and Cook County Commissioner John Fritchey no one, so far, is running against her. She will be hard to beat. In the 2008 Democratic primarys six-way race, Alvarez clobbered Bob Milan, the endorsed candidate of her predecessor, Dick Devine. And almost everyone else. Only former alderman, now judge, Tom Allen got within 10,000 votes of her. The first woman and first Hispanic to win that powerful job, she made it clear that despite being a 21year veteran of the states attorneys office, she was no defender of the status quo, nobodys good old boy. Now comes the David Koschman case to test that claim. And to become an election issue if a strong candidate opposes her. Readers of the Sun-Times know this story well. David Koschman, a 21-year-old from Mount Prospect, and three of