Why Baltimore-area inspectors general are making so much news

The public officials making some of the biggest headlines in the last few weeks aren’t the politicos at the top of the chain of command in Baltimore City and Baltimore County. Instead, it’s the officials tasked with keeping government honest in both those jurisdictions — Inspectors General Isabel Mercedes Cumming and Kelly Madigan. The work of an inspector general isn’t always attention grabbing. The position is responsible for reviewing complaints about potential waste, fraud and abuse in government — investigations that can be quite labor intensive and detail oriented.