WAUKESHA - Democratic presidential candidate and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama promised Waukesha residents Wednesday that American politics will be changing soon and government transparency is key to making it work.

Obama said if he’s elected president he’s going to work on putting more regulations in place for insurance and lending companies in order to ensure seniors and middle class families stop falling victim to predatory business practices.

"We are in a defining moment in our history," Obama said. "People are working harder for less, people have never paid more for health care, never paid more for gas at the pump ... and we cannot wait (to fix these problems)."

Less than a week before the state primary Tuesday, Obama spoke to an energetic crowd of more than 1,800 people at the Waukesha County Expo Center for a town hall-style meeting that included a question and answer session with residents. For Wauwatosa resident Ben Gucciaddi, the address by Obama was exciting.

"Really, he was the most amazing speaker I’ve ever seen and he’s so energetic," Gucciaddi said. "He brings hope and new ideas, and that’s something that’s really refreshing."

Calls for change

About 30 minutes into the start of the Waukesha event, Obama took the stage with his repetitious calls for change and an outline for a plan for the White House.

He spoke about reforming the nation’s health care structure, ending the war in Iraq, fixing the country’s home foreclosure epidemic and increasing the minimum wage.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Joe Petrie can be reached at jpetrie@conleynet.com