Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $1.5 Million In Federal Funding For Roadway Improvements In Jefferson County

CHICAGO - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $1,507,478 in federal funding through the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) for the construction of roadway improvements for industrial expansion in Jefferson County, Illinois. The project will improve access to allow current industries to ship and receive goods more efficiently, which will result in new higher paying jobs and additional employment throughout the region. The project is expected t… Continue Reading

Following Announcement Of National Opioid Emergency, Durbin And Bipartisan Sponsors Of Medicaid Care Act Press Trump To Heed Own Commission's Recommendations And Expand Access To Substance Abuse Treatment Under Medicaid

WASHINGTON - U.S. Democratic Senators Dick Durbin (IL), Sherrod Brown (OH), Joe Manchin (WV), and Cory Booker (NJ), Independent Senator Angus King (ME), and Republican Senators Rob Portman (OH), Shelley Moore Capito (WV), and Susan Collins (ME) today urged President Trump to lift the Medicaid Institutions for Mental Disease (IMD) Exclusion for residential substance use disorder treatment as part of his opioid emergency declaration. In May, the senators introduced the bipartisan Medicaid Coverage… Continue Reading

Durbin Visits Roberts Park Fire Protection District, Touts Importance Of Federal Funding For First Responders

JUSTICE - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today visited the Roberts Park Fire Protection District, which was awarded $569,674 in federal funding last month through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant program. The SAFER grant will allow the fire protection district, which includes Justice, Hickory Hills, and parts of unincorporated Cook County, to hire additional firefighters. "Our nation's firefighters and first-re… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $6.5 Million In Federal Funding To Help At-Risk Youth In Illinois Find Jobs

CHICAGO - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) awarded six local community colleges and non-profits in Illinois a total of $6,501,644 million through YouthBuild, a job-training and educational program for at-risk youth ages 16 to 24. Through YouthBuild, at-risk youth learn construction skills while constructing or rehabilitating affordable housing for low-income or homeless families in their own communities. Program … Continue Reading

Lawmakers Call Out Sessions For Holding City Violence Prevention Funds Hostage To His Extreme Immigration Agenda

WASHINGTON-Fifty-three members of the United States House and Senate are calling out Attorney General Jeff Sessions for holding critical violence prevention funds used by American cities hostage to the Trump Administration's extreme immigration agenda. The Department of Justice has placed new and onerous conditions on local law enforcement's access to federal funding through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne-JAG) program, forcing cities to choose between redirecting alr… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Reports Of DACA Recipient Detained In Suburban Chicago

CHICAGO-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), ranking member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, released the following statement on reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has detained Riccy Enriquez Perdomo, a DACA-protected individual, in suburban Chicago: "I'm disturbed by reports that a Dreamer with DACA protection has been detained. My office is in touch with ICE for an explanation. When he was Secretary of DHS, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly assur… Continue Reading

Durbin, Bustos Tour Continued Activation Of Thomson Prison

THOMSON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos (IL-17) today toured Thomson correctional facility and received an update on the continued activation of the facility by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). "Today, Congresswoman Bustos and I were assured that the activation of Thomson prison remains on schedule and that they are making good progress on critical infrastructure projects," Durbin said. "Congresswoman Bustos and I have been working to secure robust federal f… Continue Reading

Senators Press Justice, Homeland Security Departments On Investigation Of Trump Aide Sebastian Gorka

Durbin, Blumenthal, Cardin Called For Probe 5 Months Ago, After Reports Surfaced Of Gorka's Ties To Neo-Nazi Group Failure to disclose membership in Hungarian fascist organization could invalidate Gorka's U.S. immigration status WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) today pressed the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice to confirm whether senior White House counterterrorism advisor Sebastian Gorka is under investigation for f… Continue Reading

Durbin, Bustos: Federal Investment In Rockford Airport Is Creating Jobs And Growing Local Economy

ROCKFORD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos (IL-17) today toured construction of the Chicago Rockford International Airport passenger terminal, which will provide an additional 30,000 square feet for passenger check-in and additional Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) inspection lanes. Since 2015, Sen. Durbin and Rep. Bustos have helped to secure $18.2 million in federal funding from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the terminal expansion … Continue Reading

Durbin Calls On Trump To Defend DACA Program

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on the Trump Administration to defend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which allows talented young immigrants who arrived in the United States as children to go to school and work without threat of deportation. The future of the program is uncertain after Texas and nine other states threatened to sue if President Trump does not start phasing out the program by September 5. Durbin was joined by John Rowe, Co-Chair of… Continue Reading

Durbin Highlights Impact Of Community Health Centers In Fight Against Opioid Epidemic During National Health Center Week

NORMAL - During National Health Center Week, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today visited Chestnut Health System and discussed the important role that community health centers and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) play in our communities, especially when it comes to the fight against the opioid addiction epidemic. Community health centers improve access to affordable, high-quality health care in underserved urban and rural communities by integrating primary health care with pharmacy, mental health … Continue Reading

Durbin Highlights Importance Of Affordable Care Act During National Health Center Week

CHICAGO - During National Health Center Week, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today visited Mile Square Health Center and discussed the important role that community health centers and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) play in our communities. Community health centers improve access to affordable, high-quality health care in underserved urban and rural communities by integrating primary health care with pharmacy, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and oral health care services. "Not only … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth To Illinois Department Of Insurance: Protect Illinois Consumers From Trump Health Care Sabotage

CHICAGO-As the Trump Administration continues their sabotage of America's health care marketplace, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today urged the Illinois Department of Insurance to provide Illinoisans with more information about the concerning proposed Illinois health insurance premium increases for 2018 and to protect Illinoisans from higher costs that result from President Trump's sabotage of the health care marketplace. Health insurance companies participating i… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More than $1 Million In Federal Funding To Help SNAP Participants In Chicago And Aurora Purchase Healthy, Local Foods

CHICAGO - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded a total of $1,075,287 in grant funding to Illinois agencies in Chicago and Aurora to help Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants increase their purchases of fruits and vegetables. The funding comes from the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) program, authorized by the 2014 F… Continue Reading

Durbin, Reed Call On Treasury Department To Stop Corporate Inversions

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), and ten of their Senate colleagues called on the U.S. Department of the Treasury to reject calls to eliminate, undermine, or scale back anti-tax inversion and earnings stripping efforts and work with Congress to curb these abusive tax avoidance schemes for good. Inversions are corporate deals that allow U.S. companies to shift their corporate citizenship from the United States to a low-tax foreign jurisdiction, even while keeping … Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Brandon Road Study Release

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) released the Brandon Road Study, a draft plan for keeping Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes. This draft plan was set to be released on February 28, 2017, but had been stalled by the Trump Administration. "After an unexplained five month delay, the Trump Administration finally released the draft plan for keeping Asian carp from reaching and irreparably harm… Continue Reading

Durbin Applauds DEA For Lowering Opioid Quotas For Second Year In A Row

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today praised the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) proposal to reduce production quotas for nearly all Schedule II prescription opioids by 20 percent for next year. The DEA is responsible for establishing annual quotas determining the exact amount of each opioid drug that is permitted to be produced in the U.S. each year. Last year-after years of dramatic increases to the volume of opioids allowed to come to the market-the DEA heeded the Senator'… Continue Reading

Durbin: Trump Is Threatening Millions Of American Families By Undermining Health Care system

CHICAGO - Following last week's bipartisan rejection of the latest Senate Republican plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on President Trump and Congressional Republicans to work with Democrats to stabilize and strengthen America's health care system. President Trump has undertaken numerous actions to sabotage the ACA, and insurers - in Illinois and across the country - are proposing premium increases next year as a result of the Trump Admini… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Statement On Nomination Of John Lausch For U.S. Attorney For The Northern District Of Illinois

CHICAGO-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement after the White House announced the nomination of John R. Lausch to serve as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois: "We are pleased that the President has nominated Mr. Lausch. The nonpartisan screening committee we established to evaluate potential candidates came to the same conclusion and recommended him as well. Mr. Lausch has served the people of the Northern Dis… Continue Reading

Durbin To DeVos: Why Won't You Stand Up For Students And Hold For-Profit Colleges Accountable?

WASHINGTON-In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today slammed Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' decision to delay the implementation of the Gainful Employment (GE) rule, which requires career training programs to provide students with reasonable return on their educational investment - good-paying jobs that allow them to repay their student debt. In March, the Department of Education announced it would postpone the deadline for failing schools to submit … Continue Reading