Democrats throughout the country, and right here in Illinois, are pushing a two-pronged negative strategy to retain their hold on power in these uncertain times.

It has been discovered by real-estate professionals at Think Big Work Small Daily (ThinkBigWorkSmall.com) that banks are refusing to modify mortgage loans because it is far more profitable to let mortgages default so that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), using taxpayer money, can reimburse the banks and financial institutions for their losses under special agreements struck during the "financial crisis."

A recent analysis of IndyMac's new owner, One West Bank, exposed the financial benefit to One West in letting mortgages go all the way to foreclosure rather than modifying the loans or allowing short sales of the properties -- selling the property for less than the amount owed on the loan.

Iowa Republicans believe they can regain control of the Iowa House in the November election, although they agree with Democrats that the 16 seats left open because of retirements after the 2010 legislative session will play a key role in determining who will call the shots over the next two years.

Republicans note that they have the largest field of candidates since 1994 -- when they picked up 13 seats in the House -- and that 25 Republicans are running unopposed compared to just 11 Democrats.

"Republicans have a tremendous opportunity to win back the Iowa House, and the candidates we have give us a tremendous opportunity to win significant seats and knock on the door of winning back the Iowa Senate," said Republican Party of Iowa Chair Matt Strawn.

I was looking through Governor Pat Quinn's campaign-finance reports the other day and saw that he went way out of his way to list even the tiniest in-kind contributions.

"In-kind donations" means that instead of giving cash, somebody contributed goods or services to a campaign.

Reading through the report, I saw the $8.28 spent by a retired Chicago woman for food at Treasure Island. The $17.67 that a Springfield homemaker paid for Mel-O-Cream doughnuts. The $5.56 shelled out by a DuQuoin High School teacher for food at Kroger.

So it's quite remarkable that the governor will not admit that he ought to reimburse taxpayers for at least part of the state plane flight he took to southern Illinois the other day. Quinn flew down from Chicago to tour a facility with Southern Illinois University honchos. He also took a group of parents who had lost sons or daughters in Iraq and Afghanistan to a minor-league baseball game.