Impact of DHS Funding on Illinois First Responders

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) held a news conference on Friday, February 13 in Chicago to highlight how firefighters and other first responders in the Chicago metropolitan area could be impacted if the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shuts down at the end of the month when funding for the department is set to expire.  The bill extending funding for the DHS has stalled as a result of an irresponsible effort by Republicans to use the bill as a bargaining chip to push for immigration policy changes.