Progress Illinois

On his great PBS program this past weekend, Bill Moyers sat down with Sen. Dick Durbin to discuss his ongoing battle with the banking industry and his efforts to create a public financing system for congressional campaigns.  In the lengthy interview, Durbin expands on the frustrations he earlier articulated on Ray Hanania's local radio show as his proposal to allow judicidal mortgage modifications headed towards defeat. 

The whole thing is definitely worth a watch (full transcript here for those who would rather read it):

This portion is particularly devastating:

MOYERS: What was the role of the mortgage industry, in this fight?

DURBIN: They were against me all the way. The mortgage bankers led the fight against it. They organized the major banking associations. And they just wouldn't participate, with very few exceptions, in even discussing the problem. I think they believe that ultimately, they will make more money if they force this to an extreme and the government has to step in. But when I think of what they will leave in their wake, with all of these people and their foreclosed homes, all of these empty homes that become eyesores in neighborhoods, and the declining real estate values of America, it's a heavy price to pay. [...]

MOYERS: You sounded very exasperated.

DURBIN: I was. I worked on this for two years. And I've tried everything I can. I've appealed to bankers that I always believed were, you know, good corporate citizens, who believe they have an obligation beyond the bottom line to our country. And I couldn't even engage them in this conversation. It isn't as if they're solving the problem on their own. Precious few of these mortgages facing foreclosure are really being renegotiated. But ultimately they wouldn't even step up.