In Illinois, a key Democratic supporter of a major national law favorable to AT&T is facing criticism for receiving a $1 million grant from the charitable arm of SBC/AT&T, reports the Chicago Sun Times. Rep. Bobby Rush is co-sponsoring the "Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancements Act of 2006", a major broadband law re-write which would establish a national franchise system for the bells, while eliminating many deployment obligations and doling out other perks.

"It is a clear conflict of interest for Rep. Rush to weigh in on this bill," says Sheila Krumholz, the acting executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics (Open Secrets). "People can disagree about where to draw the line on contributions and abstaining from votes, but $1 million is definitely over that line."

The Bill's primary sponsor, Republican Joe Barton, has been similarly criticized for contributions received from Verizon, AT&T and Comcast. A debate has raged the past several weeks over whether the bill should contain tough provisions prohibiting incumbents from blocking or degrading competing IP service traffic.