Reflections on the deceptive silence of local elections... In November of every even year, American citizens go to the polls. Those federal elections get press coverage, avalanches of campaign funds, public service ads encouraging participation, televised debates and perhaps best of all, partisan labels to simplify one’s choices. The spring and fall elections of odd years like 2021 enjoy no such star power. When we go to the polls this year – in Illinois, for example, the magic date is April 6 this year; the “early voting” period is already in full swing – we have none of those attention-grabbing...