The first thing I do when I get to work in the morning is read the headlines—the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Wall Street Journal and the many Google news alerts I have set up for issues that concern me.

So when the first story I read was about the newest congressman from Louisiana, Anh “Joseph” Cao, I was ecstatic. After living in Louisiana for a couple of years right before Katrina and seeing what the state went through after, I was excited to see a man who seems to honestly detest the corruption in his state and still manages to understand the importance of the political system win an election everyone thought was a lost cause. I was so excited I went to talk to one of my co-workers about it and find out what the election means for our organization.

In the ten minutes I was away from my desk, I received an alert from the Chicago Tribune about how the governor and his chief of staff were arrested by the FBI. After what I went through with George Ryan (I worked in his press office when I was seventeen), I couldn’t believe another politician was putting my home state through corruption charges once again. So now Illinois has only one senator and no governor to help protect the state’s interest.

I am so tired of all this. Things keep happening that make me lose faith in our government and the people of this country. I keep trying to hold onto the good things, but I have to admit, it is getting harder and harder to do. Obama’s election seemed like such a power move towards change, and now this. Will people never learn to be honest and use their influence for good? I just want something to believe in again.