Reforming can be a lonely and punishing pursuit

Being a reformer can be a lonely and punishing pursuit. Russell Sonneveld was an investigator in George Ryan’s Secretary of State’s Office who heard about people paying bribes to get drivers licenses. He investigated aggressively, knowing the trail could lead to his boss. He was demoted, his career wrecked. “Without Sonneveld and his partner, Ed Hammer, George Ryan would probably be a free man today,” writes Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass. Sonneveld died last week, still haunted by 1994 the deaths of six children killed by a truck driver who paid a bribe to get his license.