Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Transportation and Infrastructure
Durbin Meets With Advocates For Highway Safety On Preventing Roadside Deaths
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with the Board of Directors of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety to discuss potential federal solutions to prevent roadside deaths and to accept their Highway Safety Hero Award for his work in Congress to make roads safer. In Illinois, there have already been 16 roadside crashes this year that have resulted in the deaths of three Illinois state troopers. Durbin has advocated for increased funding for federal highway safety grants, which … Continue Reading
04.05.19
Durbin Discusses Highway Safety, Trooper Deaths With IDOT
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today spoke to Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Secretary Omer Osman and Paul Loete, Director of IDOT's Office of Highways, to get an update on what IDOT is doing to prevent roadside deaths in the wake of three Illinois state troopers who died this year after being struck by vehicles on the side of the highway. Durbin urged IDOT to spend resources to better educate the public about the state's Move Over law, and offered to assist at the f… Continue Reading
04.05.19
Durbin: 'Move Over' To Save Lives Of Police & First Responders
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today paid tribute to three Illinois State Troopers who have been killed after being struck by vehicles on the sides of roads and highways this year. Durbin honored Illinois State Troopers Brooke Jones-Story, Jerry Ellis, and Chris Lambert, and recognized the efforts of Lucy Kuelper, the daughter of an Illinois State Trooper who created a Facebook page to raise awareness about Scott's Law, which requires motorists to s… Continue Reading
04.04.19
Durbin Presses Carson About Trump Administration's Cuts To Public Housing In East St. Louis
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today, in a Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Services Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing, pressed U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson about the Trump Administration's Fiscal Year 2020 budget, which calls for deep cuts in federal funding to HUD's affordable housing programs. Durbin specifically mentioned his concerns about the proposal to eliminate the Public Housing Capital Fund… Continue Reading
04.03.19
Durbin Presses Carson About Trump Administration's Cuts To Public Housing In East St. Louis
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today, in a Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Services Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing, pressed U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson about the Trump Administration's Fiscal Year 2020 budget, which calls for deep cuts in federal funding to HUD's affordable housing programs. Durbin specifically mentioned his concerns about the proposal to eliminate the Public Housing Capital Fund… Continue Reading
03.28.19
Durbin Meets Federal Railroad Administrator To Discuss Amtrak On Time Performance, Chicago To Quad Cities Passenger Rail, And Blocked Crossings
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) met with Ron Batory, the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), to discuss Amtrak on-time performance (OTP), increasing access to passenger rail service in Illinois including from Chicago to the Quad Cities, and the need for the FRA to take a more active role in preventing blocked crossings by freight trains. "While Illinois' economy benefits from being the nation's freight rail hub, my constituents deserve more accountability f… Continue Reading
03.22.19
Durbin Questions FAA Safety Approval Process For Boeing 737 Max Series Planes
WASHINGTON-In the wake of the two recent Boeing 737 Max series plane crashes, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today pressed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for answers following a New York Times report yesterday that detailed how a previously optional safety feature will now be added as a standard feature on all 737 Max series planes. In a letter to FAA Acting Administrator Daniel Elwell, Durbin asked why such safety features were not originally required by the FAA to be included on a… Continue Reading
03.13.19
Durbin: Public Deserves Transparency From The FAA On Safety Of Boeing 737 Max 8 Series Aircraft
WASHINGTON-Following the two devastating plane crashes involving Boeing's new 737 Max 8 series aircraft, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today pressed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to immediately provide the public with clear answers about the current safety of this aircraft and to work with both the manufacturer and the airlines to perform a thorough investigation of the aircraft to find and remedy any potential vulnerabilities. In a letter to FAA Acting Administrator Daniel Elwell… Continue Reading
03.06.19
Durbin Meets With Rock Island Army Corps Commander To Discuss Illinois Infrastructure Priorities
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rock Island District including Colonel Steven Sattinger, Commander and District Engineer for the Rock Island District, to discuss the need for continued federal investment in Illinois' water infrastructure and flood risk management for the Upper Mississippi River region. Durbin also discussed the importance of preventing the spread of Asian Carp to the Great Lakes, and rehabilitation of the La… Continue Reading
03.06.19
Durbin Meets With Metra CEO
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Metra CEO Jim Derwinski and members of Metra's Board of Directors to discuss transportation priorities in Illinois, including last week's Amtrak computer system failure at Chicago Union Station that resulted in 12 hours of delay impacting 100,000 Metra and Amtrak passengers. Durbin also discussed increased funding for Metra operations, the implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) safety technology, and service issues on Metra's B… Continue Reading
03.05.19
Durbin, Duckworth Press Trump Administration To Release New Bridge Repair Funding
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today urged the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to immediately release $475 million in new federal funding for risk-based bridge repair and replacement that they secured in the recently passed Fiscal Year 2019 appropriations bill. Illinois currently has the third largest bridge inventory in the country. Of the 26,775 bridges in Illinois, 2,303 bridges, or 8.6 percent, are classified as structurally deficient. "Illin… Continue Reading
03.01.19
Durbin, Duckworth Call On Amtrak To Make Changes To Prevent Another Equipment Failure At Union Station
WASHINGTON-Following yesterday's Amtrak computer system failure at Chicago Union Station, which lasted more than 12 hours, caused significant delays and overcrowding, and impacted both morning and evening commutes, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today sent a letter to Amtrak CEO and President Richard Anderson asking for swift policy and operational changes to prevent future equipment failures. Today, Anderson admitted that Amtrak made a series of errors, including a … Continue Reading
03.01.19
Durbin Statement On Amtrak Computer System Failure At Union Station
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after he spoke to Amtrak CEO and President Richard Anderson about yesterday's Amtrak computer system failure at Chicago Union Station, which lasted more than 12 hours, caused significant delays and overcrowding, and impacted both morning and evening commutes: I talked to Mr. Anderson this morning and in blunt terms, asked him what happened in Chicago yesterday? Why did thousands of commuters see their service int… Continue Reading
02.14.19
Durbin Statement On Bipartisan Agreement To Fund The Government
WASHINGTON-Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the bipartisan, bicameral conference committee on Homeland Security, today released the following statement after voting for the bipartisan agreement negotiators reached to fund the nine remaining federal departments and their agencies. The bipartisan package rejects President Trump's demand for $5.7 billion for a border wall and makes responsible investments in border security long supported by Democrats. For 35 days, we said t… Continue Reading
01.25.19
Durbin Calls On President Trump To End Government Shutdown, Discusses Impact On Air Traffic Controllers
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today in a speech on the Senate floor urged President Trump to end his senseless shutdown over his unrealistic campaign promise of a border wall. Today, the FAA delayed flights at LaGuardia Airport in New York due to a shortage of air traffic controllers. Durbin shared his experience meeting with air traffic controllers who continue to work six days a week for 10 hour shifts without pay, and how the President's shutdown has added unneeded stress to an… Continue Reading
01.18.19
Durbin, Duckworth Press President Trump On Shutdown Housing Crisis
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined members of Congress in a letter to President Trump on the direct and immediate consequences of the shutdown on housing security for more than four million households across the country. Both the short-term operations and long-term viability of affordable housing programs are dependent on the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) rental assistance initiatives. An estimated 2.2 million low-income househ… Continue Reading
01.16.19
Durbin: President Trump Holding 250,000 Veterans' Paychecks Hostage For His Border Wall
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Republicans to reopen the government by passing the House-passed bipartisan bills - bills that earned the support of Senate Republicans just a few months ago. In his speech on the Senate floor, Durbin noted how veterans are some of the hardest hit by President Trump's shutdown. Today, as many as 250,000 veterans across the country - direct hire federal workers and contractors a… Continue Reading
01.08.19
Durbin Highlights Effects of Government Shutdown on TSA Employees
CHICAGO - As the government shutdown continues, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today discussed how the shutdown is affecting the federal workers of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). More than 1,600 TSA employees at O'Hare Airport and more than 400 TSA employees work at Midway Airport are currently working without pay. "TSA workers are here to make sure we are safe while we travel, but because of President Trump's shutdown, thousands of TSA officers, air traffic controllers, an… Continue Reading
12.19.18
Durbin, Duckworth Announce $2 Million For Positive Train Control
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced a total of $2,058,163 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for the implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) safety technology on Metra railroads. PTC is a federally mandated computerized system that prevents certain types of train-to-train collisions, helps avoid derailments and other accidents caused by excessive speed, and increases safety for rail workers. "Implement… Continue Reading
12.17.18
Durbin, Duckworth, Emanuel Announce $1.48 Million for CTA Red Line Improvements
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel today announced $1,480,000 in federal funding to support improvements for the Chicago Transit Authority's (CTA) Red Line. The funding, awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), will support the planning of the proposed extension of the Red Line, connecting the 95th/Dan Ryan Terminal to 130th Street. "This grant funding will continue to help improve the CTA's infrastructure, whi… Continue Reading