Although Illinois Senator Dick Durbin's planned press conference on the Helping Families Avoid Foreclosure bill was a bit overshadowed by the arrest of Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, Durbin's message remains the same:  allowing bankruptcy courts to rewrite home mortgage loans is a critical step toward ending the foreclosure crisis that's been mounting for more than two years and shows no signs of slowing down.

Durbin's bill, which failed to gain traction last year, would correct an absurdity in the current bankruptcy code that makes home loans one of the few items virtually untouchable by the bankruptcy court.

Not only can the bankruptcy court already rewrite other types of loans, such as auto loans, but even mortgage loans can be rewritten if those loans are attached to second homes, commercial property, or virtually anything other than the one asset most Americans most want to protect:  their homes.

The bill's sponsors believe that approximately 1/3 of the up to eight million homeowners facing foreclosure in the coming years could be helped directly by the bankruptcy courts, and speculate that the availability of relief in the bankruptcy courts might push mortgage lenders to work with borrowers to rewrite loans.

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