We’re about to see who, if anyone, has any political negotiating skill at the Statehouse. As they prepare for their end game over the next few days, Mike Madigan and Bruce Rauner, the two tops, might study how Mohandas Gandhi negotiated with the British for India’s independence. Gandhi knew how to mobilize the masses behind the cause, which really hasn’t been done in Illinois. He meticulously drew up lists of demands and publicized them widely; here the demands change regularly, causing confusion. During bargaining he made concessions publicly; here if concessions are made they’re kept secret. In victory Gandhi allowed his adversary to save face and exit with grace. “Never take a person’s dignity. It’s worth everything to them, and nothing to you,” is a lesson that has not yet been learned in Springfield. –Fletcher Farrar, editor and publisher