Durbin: On One Year Anniversary Of Tragic Illinois Tornado, Communities Continue To Work Together, Rebuild

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement on the one-year anniversary of a rare November tornado that tore through Central and Southern Illinois, causing widespread devastation and eight deaths in the state. "The people who live and work in the communities damaged by last year's storms have made incredible progress rebuilding. Thousands of volunteers have helped with the cleanup. Hearing stories of friends and neighbors - and even strangers - wo… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Senate Passage Of Bipartisan Child Care And Development Block Grant Act

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today applauded Senate passage of a bipartisan bill that reauthorizes the Child Care and Development Block Grant Program, which provides funding to help working families with the cost of child care. The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act - which passed the House of Representatives in September and will now go to President Obama for his signature - would authorize more than $15 billion in funding over 6 years for the grant program, whil… Continue Reading

Durbin, Preckwinkle Hold Roundtable Discussion on Affordable Care Act Open Enrollment

[CHICAGO] - With the second open enrollment period for health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) underway, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle held a roundtable discussion at Erie Division Street Health Center with patients currently receiving ACA coverage to discuss the benefits of the program. The discussion included the importance of enrolling in coverage under the ACA, the success of Cook County's CountyCare program - a Medicai… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on the Death of Former Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after learning of the death of Jane Byrne, the first female mayor of Chicago. "When Jane Byrne moved into Cabrini Green, she proved Chicago's first woman mayor was unafraid to tackle the city's toughest problems head on. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family and friends."… Continue Reading

Energy and Natural Resources Committee Passes Durbin, Kirk Bill To Study New Philadelphia As National Park

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] -U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) announced today that the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee passed a bill that takes the first step toward a National Park designation for New Philadelphia, Illinois - the first town in America founded and built by a freed slave before the Civil War. The bill calls for a study of whether a National Park designation is merited. In 2012, national park visitors contributed more than $30 billion to local economies a… Continue Reading

Durbin, Kirk, Bustos Lead Bipartisan Effort To Name Galesburg VA Clinic After Lane Evans

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) and U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos (D-IL) introduced legislation today to honor the legacy and public service achievements of former U.S. Representative from Illinois Lane Evans by naming a veterans facility in Galesburg, Illinois the "Lane A. Evans VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic." Evans - who represented Illinois' 17th Congressional District for more than 20 years - was known throughout his career in Congress as … Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On The Death Of Former Congressman Lane Evans

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin today released the following statement after learning of the death of former Quad Cities Congressman Lane Evans. "Illinois lost one of its kindest, most caring public servants with the passing of my friend and colleague Lane Evans. When I last visited him I told him our friend Barack Obama still remembered his quiet courage as a Congressman. I recall our many common causes for veterans and our downstate districts and, of course, our many hard foug… Continue Reading

Durbin, Bustos Hold Roundtable Discussion on Women's Economic Security - Rock Island

[ROCK ISLAND] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17) held a roundtable discussion with several local women about a range of economic challenges they face today at Skip-a-Long Child Development Services. The discussion looked at how issues such as minimum wage, pay equity, access to child care and health care affect women's financial stability and success. "Too many women face financial pressures simply because of outdated policies that limit economic op… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces More Than $26.1 Million in Funding For Illinois Housing and Community Development

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that communities and housing agencies throughout Illinois will receive a total of $26,128,915 in grant funding through three programs administered by Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help develop urban communities in the area. "This funding will give local development agencies around Illinois the ability to expand and improve affordable housing and other critical services in their communities," Durbin said.… Continue Reading

Durbin Applauds Administration's Move To Increase Security & Prevent Fraud For Credit and Debit Cards

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today applauded President Obama's decision to issue an Executive Order that is intended to better secure financial transactions and safeguard sensitive consumer data. The Order requires government payment cards - such as the prepaid debit cards that Treasury uses to distribute Social Security benefits - to incorporate secure "chip-and-PIN" technology to store card information instead of relying on the unencrypted magnetic stripe on the back o… Continue Reading

Durbin Discusses Proposal to Lower Student Loan Interest Rate with SIU Students and Alums

[CARBONDALE] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today discussed the impact of student loan debt and college affordability with students, alumni and staff at Southern Illinois University. While America is home to the best colleges and universities in the world, tuition and fees have more than doubled over the past two decades. An estimated 1.7 million Illinoisans hold a combined $47 billion in student loan debt. Durbin has worked on a variety of proposals to make college more affordable, including… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Reports of AbbVie Reconsidering Inversion

[CHICAGO] -U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after North Chicago-based AbbVie announced that it will reconsider a decision to exploit a tax loophole called "inversion" which allows a company to move its headquarters overseas, but only on paper, in order to avoid paying U.S. taxes: "I'm encouraged by reports that AbbVie will reconsider its decision to move its tax address out of the United States," said Durbin. "When corporations choose to invert and don't pay thei… Continue Reading

Durbin, Bustos Hold Roundtable Discussion on Women's Economic Security

[EAST PEORIA] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17) held a roundtable discussion on women's economic security today at Illinois Central College. The discussion looked at how issues such as minimum wage, pay equity, access to child care and health care affect women's financial stability and success. "Too many women face financial pressures simply because of outdated policies that limit economic opportunities. We have a problem in this country when women… Continue Reading

Durbin and Blumenthal Call on FDA to Inspect Products Containing Designer Stimulant DMBA

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to inspect products containing the designer, unapproved and untested stimulant, known as 1,3-Dimethylbutylamine (DMBA) which has been found to be chemically similar to DMAA, a harmful pharmaceutical stimulant banned by the Food and Drug Administration. In a study released today and reported by USA Today, researchers found DMBA in 12 of 14 supplements that cl… Continue Reading

U.S. Secretary of the Army Visits Rock Island Arsenal

[MOLINE] - At the invitation of U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17), U.S. Secretary of the Army John McHugh visited the Rock Island Arsenal today for the first time since 2010. McHugh toured the Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center and met with local mayors and community leaders to discuss the importance of investing in the Arsenal's future. Durbin is the chair of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, which oversees discretionary spending… Continue Reading

Fourteen Attorney's General Support Durbin, Harkin, Cummings Bill To Improve Federal Oversight of For-Profit College Industry

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator and Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Tom Harkin (D-IA) and U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings (D-MD) today announced that fourteen Attorneys General from around the country have expressed support for their legislation to improve coordination between federal agencies that oversee the for-profit college industry. A copy of the letter is available HERE. Given the financial collapse of Corinthian Col… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces $500,000 Investment in Chicago Communities To Help Create Jobs and Boost Development

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce's (DOC) Economic Development Administration (EDA) and Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) has awarded a total of $500,000 in funding to help create jobs, boost economic development, and grow minority owned businesses in Chicago, Illinois. "Today's funding will help Chicago's manufacturing cluster create and implement a plan for continued regional growth. It will also give local mino… Continue Reading

FAA Administrator to Visit Aurora Air Traffic Facility

[CHICAGO] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Bill Foster (D-IL-11) today announced that the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Michael Huerta, will visit the damaged Aurora FAA facility and meet with members of the Congressional Delegation on the afternoon of Friday, October 3. The visit comes after a fire was set at the Aurora air traffic control facility last week that resulted in a massive air traffic shutdown across the county. Huerta will meet… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces $130,000 in Funding to Clean and Redevelop South Cook County Neighborhoods

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS,) has awarded a $130,000 grant to the University of Illinois for a "brownfields" health community pilot project in South Cook County, Illinois. The University of Illinois will use this funding to develop and lead a committee of regional stakeholders to assess, clean, and redevelop "brownfields" contaminated w… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces Over $19 Million in DOJ Funding To Support Illinois Justice Programs

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced today that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has awarded a total of $19,036,189 in grants to support the establishment or enhancement of several justice system programs in Illinois. "Today's funding is an important investment in the Illinois justice system," said Durbin. "These initiatives will promote school safety, provide vital assistance to those who have been the victims of crimes, and enhance community-oriented policing an… Continue Reading