Illinois Delegation Meets with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in Washington
Late yesterday on the floor of the Senate, Durbin vows to continue fight to improve laws that keep guns out of the hands of criminals
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today hosted an Illinois Congressional Delegation meeting with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel who is in Washington, DC to attend a summit on violent crimes sponsored by the Justice Department.
Members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation attending today’s meeting include: Durbin, U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) and U.S. Representatives Cheri Bustos (D-IL), Rodney Davis (R-IL), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Robin Kelly (D-IL), Dan Lipinski (D-IL), Mike Quigley (D-IL) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL).
B-Roll of the meeting found HERE in high definition and HERE in standard definition.
Late yesterday, in a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Durbin vowed to continue working on legislation that would keep guns out of the hands of criminals and on preventing attempts by the gun lobby to weaken already existing laws. He also told the story of Sandra Wortham – sister of slain Chicago Police Officer Thomas Wortham IV. Officer Wortham served in the National Guard, and had recently returned from his second tour of duty in Iraq when he was shot and killed outside of his family’s home in Chicago by gang members using a straw purchased gun.
“We can stop the gun lobby from gutting the laws on the books and we can close the loopholes that allow guns to flow into the hands of criminals,” said Durbin. “As President Obama said, our thoughts and prayers are not enough – stopping this violence requires courage and political will. I’ve seen too many lives cut short, too many families and communities devastated by this violence to give up on this effort. I hope Congress can rise to the challenge.”
Video of Durbin’s speech can be accessed on his YouTube page.
TV stations can download his speech in high definition HERE and standard definition HERE.
Audio of his speech can be found HERE.