IL-6: Republican Peter Roskam

The winner of the March 21 Democratic primary for Sixth Congressional District of Illinois will face Republican Peter Roskam to replace 16-term Republican Rep. Henry J. Hyde in Congress. Peter Roskam issues page on this Roskam for Congress website, he only gives one paragraph on the issues.

Senator Peter Roskam will be outlining his vision to the voters of the Sixth Congressional District. Throughout his 12 years in the General Assembly, Peter Roskam has been committed to upholding the values of the Republican Party - lower taxes, limited government, individual freedom and standing up for the values we hold dear.

Just a typical cookie cutter paragraph on the issues for any Republican running for office. Lets take a deeper look, Peter Roskam started in political career as a Tom DeLay aid.

Roskam, 43, is a lawyer who lives in Wheaton. He worked as an aide to DeLay in 1985 and part of 1986, but said he has "not had any contact with him essentially for 20 years."

"I think everybody agrees that he's one of the most effective legislators in Washington, D.C.," Roskam said. "Knowing what I know now about what Tom DeLay's been accused of, my attitude would be to support him."

Not had any contact with Tom DeLay essentially for 20 yeas, is that true? Well, it depends on the word essentially.

Roskam received a $1,000 contribution from Tom DeLay's crooked political action committee, Americans for a Republican Majority, during his 1998 congressional campaign. [www.tray.com]

Roskam hosted Tom DeLay at a fundraiser for Roskam's congressional campaign in 2005. [The Hill, 11/9/05]

I guess $500 a plate dinner fundraiser hosted by Tom DeLay in 2005 is not essential contact to Republican Peter Roskam. Just like Tom Delay Republican Peter Roskam has ethic problems.

Peter Roskam, has run afoul of Federal Election Commission (FEC) reporting regulations on several occasions, most recently failing to report his fundraising expenditures for the third quarter of 2005. Now, anyone can make minor errors on our FEC reports. But to forget to file where $103,880.96 was spent in three months is too much.

It is clear Peter Roskam is a typical Tom Delay Republican. Whether you support Christine Cegelis or Tammy Duckworth in the Democratic primary both of them are a better choice for Sixth Congressional District of Illinois than Peter Roskam.