As everyone has heard by now, former Republican powerhouse lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to criminal charges this week and agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors. As many as 20 indictments of elected officials and government staff are expected as prosecutors build their cases with the new evidence he is providing. The temperature is rising in Washington, DC, this week and many prominent Republicans are feeling the heat.  Tom DeLay and his lawyers must be working overtime to keep up with all of the subpoenas.

My question is this - what is it going to take to get the Republicans to call for DeLay's resignation?  The Washington insiders are once again protecting each other. He needs to go.  His escalating legal troubles are more than a distraction - they are a stain on our Congress.  Where is the House ethics oversight?  I am still not hearing that the Ethics committee is fulfilling their responsibility to oversee, investigate and censure members who have committed `improprieties.'

I welcome Tammy Duckworth to the race.

What a week this has been!  First of all, I need to welcome to the Democratic primary Major Ladda "Tammy" Duckworth, who is set to announce her candidacy for the 6th Congressional District of Illinois race this weekend. She joins Lindy Scott and me in the primary race for the open seat in IL-06.

Tammy Duckworth is an Iraq war veteran and my thanks and admiration go out to her for the great sacrifice she has made for our country.  It is because of the service and sacrifice of the men and women serving in our armed forces that we all can live in a country with such a proud tradition of freedom and democracy.

This week, Rep. Randy Cunningham of California's 50th District joined the already long list of top Republican officials implicated in ethical violations. Cunningham resigned and pleaded guilty to felony charges that included accepting millions of dollars in bribes and tax evasion. The Republican Party is distancing themselves from the disgraced ex-lawmaker in an attempt to head off wider damage to their political prospects. But the damage is already done. Our government is stained by ethics scandals involving both the House and Senate leaders, numerous Congressional members and extending all the way to the highest levels of power in the White House.

As all eyes remain riveted on the mounting crises at the White House, today's news and talk has been dominated by the implications of the Libby indictment, a looming avian flu pandemic and the nomination of the far-right Judge Alito. Unfortunately, the list of scandals and missteps goes on and on. The House Budget Committee is counting on these issues to distract us from their consideration of a disastrous spending reconciliation bill that cuts key services for those who need it most -- including Medicaid, student loans, child support, and food stamps.
The American public needs to understand the damage these cuts would inflict on our economy and our country's most vulnerable. I encourage you to read the details and the full list of cuts by following this link.
http://www.democraticleader.house.gov/pdf/RECONCILIATION.pdf

The news of Tom DeLay's indictment Wednesday was particularly timely given the email my campaign sent to supporters last night. The email was an appeal for donations before the end of the fundraising quarter. The subject line: "Citizen Funded vs. Tom DeLay Funded."

We were making the point that my campaign, with an average donation last quarter of $72, is primarily a citizen funded campaign. My opponent Peter Roskam is funded by Washington Republicans including Tom Delay.

Roskam may claim that he hasn't spoken to Tom DeLay in 20 years. That would be odd, considering that DeLay gave to a Roskam campaign in 1998, and DeLay headlined a big money Washington fundraiser this Sept. 22.

Accepting support from Tom DeLay is a double-edged sword. Roskam raises a great deal of money because of Tom DeLay's support. But a deal with DeLay comes with a price. He's known as "The Hammer" because he wreaks political vengeance on opponents and aggressively enforces party discipline in close votes.

If you make a deal with DeLay, he expects you to toe the line regardless of your constituent's views. And if you don't, you'll feel "The Hammer."

Roskam has made a deal with DeLay.

It started when Roskam served as a legislative aide to the indicted Majority Leader. The first handshake came when he accepted Tom DeLay's support in a failed bid for another House seat.

Roskam signed on the dotted line just last week when DeLay headlined the $1,000-a-PAC fundraising luncheon.

There's no ambiguity here. Pete Roskam is DeLay's man.

It's not really surprising that Roskam would make a deal with Tom DeLay. After all, they have so much in common - they've both been investigated for possible campaign finance abuse. We're all familiar with Tom DeLay's reported abuses. Roskam's are less well known.

Last week, Democracy for America held a first round in its All-Star Grassroots Candidate contest to determine who they would endorse for Congress in 2006. (http://tools.democracyforamerica.com/housevote/)

Thanks to members of the grassroots and netroots communities, I made the cut. Now we're in the final round and I'm asking for your vote. All of the candidates in the final round will want your vote, so I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you how the support of the grassroots community, really average citizens who decided to get involved, has made all the difference for me.  

When I first decided to run for Congress, I began by searching the Internet to find out what I needed to do to run. I learned about filings and petitions and election rules. But I didn't learn about the unwritten rules that say you should be connected or rich. I didn't learn that it helps to have "somebody" send you to the race.

The policies of the Bush administration and the Republican Congress that supports him have long favored corporate interests over working Americans. We've seen this in the bankruptcy bill, efforts to eliminate overtime pay, and in the refusal to let the government negotiate for lower prices on prescription drugs covered by Medicare.  

As I've toured my district during my campaign and spent time with the people who volunteer in my campaign, I've had the opportunity to hear the personal stories of people who hurt by those policies. It inspires me to continue my efforts to speak for those people in Congress.

The latest example of a policy that does a disservice to working Americans is the President's recent decision to suspend the Bacon-Davis Act and his current attempts to suspend the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act. These two Acts protect American workers from being paid unfair, low wages by requiring companies to pay the prevailing wage in the area where work is being done. The suspension of these two Acts apply to the areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

No matter where one might stand on the political spectrum--Democrat, Republican or Independent--I believe most would agree with me that fundamentally our government has a responsibility to protect its citizens.  What we witnessed with hurricane Katrina has been a colossal disaster on the part of those in charge.

We need to start thinking about turning in a new direction.  And begin to believe that such a change in course is possible.  We need a new direction, new leadership and a new, bold vision for our country.  All of it is possible.