Good morning.

Living near Lake Michigan has many benefits, but one negative is during the spring, when temperatures are often 15 degrees cooler than the rest of the area. Hope all of you living well west of the lake have been enjoying the warmth the last few days.

The editorial board considers the criticisms being lobbed at Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke for her lack of prosecutions of federal immigration agents stemming from Operation Midway Blitz. The board doesn't think much of this attempt to appoint a special prosecutor in her stead.

The board also takes up the weighty issue of whether to slap a 3% surcharge on the state income taxes on those making more than $1 million. This matter may be on your ballots in November, so we'll be interested in what readers think once they get past the tax-the-rich rhetoric. Willie Wilson, a regular contributor, has a piece on the same subject.

Speaking of regular contributors, columnist Laura Washington's offering regarding Kamala Harris and the quandary facing Democrats who want to move on from the 2024 election garnered lots of reader interest. If you haven't checked it out, I'd recommend it.

Following in-depth work by the Tribune newsroom and an editorial, Chicago Corporation Counsel Mary Richardson-Lowry explains the Law Department's approach to the pile of wrongful-conviction lawsuits weighing on taxpayers.

And please read the op-ed by a pair of professors on how our system designed to protect abused and neglected children is failing badly. This wrenching issue never seems to get the attention it deserves.

Of course, we have reader letters as well. Have a great Thursday, and we'll be back tomorrow.

— Steve Daniels, editorial board member

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