A quick observation

Any politician who has to pay family members to work on their campaign is probably not worth voting for. And especially not worth donating to!

Two Illinois congressmen have paid their wives hundreds of thousands of dollars out of their campaign funds in the last decade, according to records filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Two other Chicago-area congressmen, Danny Davis and Luis Gutierrez, have given their wives smaller amounts for doing campaign work. The four lawmakers, all Democrats, were re-elected last week.

In addition to the four, at least two other Chicago-area members of the U.S. House — Republicans Don Manzullo and Mark Kirk, who is now senator-elect — have put relatives on their campaign payroll.

Lawmakers are barred from employing relatives in their official offices, but a 2001 opinion issued by the Federal Election Commission — at Jackson's request — declared the practice legal for campaign committees, as long as the relative is qualified and is paid no more than the market rate.