09.01.20

Durbin Joins Illinois Appellate Lawyers Association To Discuss The Importance Of Legal Aid Services During COVID-19 Pandemic

SPRINGFIELD – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined the Illinois Appellate Lawyers Association, the Federal Bar Association’s Chicago chapter, and the Chicago Inn of Court for a virtual conversation about current legal topics including the importance of pro bono and legal aid services, civil rights, policing reform, and voting rights.

“Today, we find ourselves in the midst of a season of uncertainty in America as we confront a pandemic and its accompanying recession, a reckoning with this nation’s racial inequities, and growing concerns about whether the rule of law itself will hold in America,” said Durbin. “America needs lawyers and judges today who are committed to the rule of law and who will help us steer safely through this turbulent time. I’m grateful for the work Illinois’ lawyers are doing to help close the significant ‘justice gap’ in legal services and support those in need.”

As a cosponsor of the Justice in Policing Act, Durbin expressed his support for a comprehensive approach to hold police accountable for misconduct through establishing a National Police Misconduct Registry, prohibiting racial profiling, and requiring law enforcement agencies to disclose use of force data by demographic in addition to banning chokeholds and no-knock warrants in federal drug cases. Durbin also discussed his recently introduced joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment to protect against voter suppression by providing an affirmative, individual right to vote for every U.S. citizen of legal voting age and requiring that any efforts to limit the right to vote be subject to the strictest level of review in the courts.

-30-