Durbin, Kirk, Quinn, Emanuel: EPA Designation Will Allow Chicago Area to Maintain Eligibility for Federal Funds to Reach Eventual Air Quality Attainment

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - At the urging of U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mark Kirk (R-IL), Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced that the City of Chicago and surrounding areas should remain eligible for federal funding through the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program. It is estimated that losing this eligibility would have cost Illinois roughly $80 million in federal funding and jeopard… Continue Reading

Durbin: Illinois in Need of Increased Rail Investment Under New Transportation Bill

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin today asked the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation to increase funding for job creating Illinois rail and multimodal priorities - including rail line relocation grants, Amtrak and the TIGER grant program - in its bill to reauthorize the Surface Transportation Act. Durbin also urged the Committee to reject the proposals in the House Transportation bill that would eliminate or dramatically reduce funding for programs that are ess… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces Over $3 Million for a Rural Development Project in McDonough County

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Development division has awarded a loan of $2,192,000 and a grant of $999,200 for the West Prairie Water CO-OP under the Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program. The project involves the construction of almost 100 miles of water mains in townships across McDonough County. These improvements are expected to alleviate a health and sanitary issue caused by the cont… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces an Over $2 Million Investment in Illinois First-responder Capabilities

[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has made a $2,052,462 investment in twelve fire departments and fire protection districts in Illinois. Today's funding will help support and improve the capability of each department and protection district to respond to fires and other types of emergencies. "Our nation's firefighters are called upon day after day to protect Americ… Continue Reading

Durbin Chairs First-ever Field Hearing on Florida's Voting Law

[TAMPA, FLORIDA] - US Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights, held a field hearing in Tampa, Florida today, examining the impact of Florida's new voting law, which restricts early voting and makes it harder for third-party groups to help people register to vote. Today's hearing comes just four days before Florida's presidential primary. "Four days from now, hundreds of thousands of people across the state … Continue Reading

Durbin Introduces Illinois Residents at Senate Committee Hearing on Northern District Judicial Nominations

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced John Lee and John "Jay" Tharp at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on their nominations by President Obama to fill two vacancies on the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Illinois. Their nominations are expected to receive a vote in the committee within the next few weeks. If approved, their nominations will receive a vote by the full Senate. A spokesperson Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) provided the fol… Continue Reading

Durbin, Senators to FDA: Deceptive Marketing of Cigarettes Must be Stopped

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) in calling on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to crack down on marketing by cigarette companies that misleads consumers about the safety of their products. Cigarette companies have adapted their advertising and marketing practices to skirt restrictions signed into law in 2009 and the FDA must take action, the Senators… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets with Quad Cities Officials to Discuss Rock Island Arsenal and Other Priorities

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with officials from the Quad Cities area to discuss their priorities for Rock Island Arsenal and the region. Participants in today's meeting included: Rock Island County Board Chairman, Jim Bohnsack and Moline Mayor Dan Welvaert. "The Quad Cities region has a great history of coming together to build the economy of the entire region," said Durbin. "Meeting with local leaders like Chairman Bohnsack and Mayor Welvaert we can prod… Continue Reading

Durbin Reaction to President Obama's State of the Union Address

[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement in reaction to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address. "Tonight we heard the President lay out a plan for an American economy that values hard work, promotes fairness and rewards responsibility. He spoke about an economy based on American energy and manufacturing and built by the highest skilled workers in the world." "I support that plan and the President's vision for an America that he… Continue Reading

Durbin will Host Illinois Soldier for Tonight's State of the Union

[WASHINGTON, DC] - In what has become an annual tradition, Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) will host a wounded Illinois soldier as his guest for President Barack Obama's State of the Union address. U.S. Army Specialist Jacob Owens from the Englewood neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, will also attend the Secretary of the Senate's dinner immediately preceding the President's address. Durbin has invited soldiers who have served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars as his guests … Continue Reading

Durbin, Harkin: Congress Must Remove Loophole that Encourages For-profit Colleges to Target Veterans

[CHICAGO, IL] - At a forum examining aggressive recruiting and marketing tactics practiced by some members of the for-profit college industry to target veterans and service members, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced legislation that would further limit federal government subsidies to for-profit colleges and eliminate the incentive for these extremely profitable schools to aggressively target veterans and service members. The Protecting Our Students and Taxpayers (POST) Act is cosp… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Senator Mark Kirk

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - US Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement today after learning that his friend and colleague, Illinois Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL), has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke:"I was stunned to learn that Mark suffered a stroke. He is young and in good physical condition and I have no doubt he will make a speedy recovery. I have reached out to his staff and offered to do anything I can to help with his Senate duties. Loretta and I will keep Mark and his … Continue Reading

Durbin Travels to Cuba and Haiti

[WASHINGTON, DC] - Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) is in Havana, Cuba where he been holding two days of high-level meetings with Cuban officials. The trip has focused on changes in Cuba - including Cuba's substantial offshore drilling proposal - as well as discussions on improved relations between the US and the island nation. Durbin also pressed the Cuban government to release Alan Gross, a USAID contract worker who has been jailed since 2009. Gross was arrested and sentenced t… Continue Reading

Durbin: USDA Should Work More Closely with Chicago Public Schools to Eliminate Fraud in School Lunch Program

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Prompted by a Chicago Tribune report unveiling cases of school employees submitting false information in order to enroll more children for free and reduced lunches, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to work more closely with schools and school districts - including Chicago Public Schools - to reduce or eliminate fraud in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Specifically, Durbin asked the USDA to brief… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces Field Hearing on Florida Voting Law

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - US Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights, today announced a field hearing examining the impact of Florida's new voting law, which restricts early voting and makes it harder for third-party groups to help people register to vote. The hearing will be held on January 27th, just days before the Florida Presidential Primary, at the Hillsborough County Courthouse in downtown Tampa. Among oth… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets with Chicago's Largest Microlender to Discuss Growing Small Business

[CHICAGO, IL] - Support for microfinance organizations that give small businesses and entrepreneurs access to credit will help spur our economic recovery and create jobs, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said today at a meeting with officials from ACCION, Chicago's largest microlender, and the owners of Gourmet Gorilla, an organic school lunch catering company that is one of ACCION's fastest growing borrowers. ACCION provides credit and other business services to small business owners who do not … Continue Reading

Durbin: Amazon Agreement with Indiana Paves Way for Bipartisan Bill to Level the Playing Field for Main Street Retailers

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today said that the agreement between Amazon and Republican Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels will build momentum for bipartisan federal legislation - specifically the Marketplace Fairness Act that he introduced with Senators Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) - which aims to level the playing field for Main Street retailers. Under the agreement, announced yesterday, Amazon will voluntarily begin collecting Indiana sales tax on internet… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls on Illinois Colleges and Universities to Help Protect Students from Hidden Bank Fees

[EDWARDSVILLE, IL] - Colleges and universities should take a leading role in promoting transparency in checking account fees, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said today at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. Durbin called on Illinois schools to encourage their partner financial institutions to voluntarily adopt a bank account fee disclosure form designed to make checking account terms and fees transparent and easy for consumers to understand. College students - many of whom open checking … Continue Reading

Durbin and Quinn Announce $7.7 Million in Investment to Help Illinois Communities Recover from Storms

[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Illinois Governor Pat Quinn today announced a more than $7.7 million investment in Illinois communities to help cover the costs of repairing roads and bridges damaged by storms last year. Today's funding is provided through the Department of Transportation's Emergency Relief program which funds the repair and reconstruction of federal highways and roads that have suffered serious damage as a result of natural disasters and other outside fac… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces a Nearly $700,000 Investment in Illinois First-responder Capabilities

[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has made a $693,876 investment in seven fire departments in Illinois. Today's funding will help support and improve the capability of each department and protection district to respond to fires and other types of emergencies. "Our nation's firefighters are called upon day after day to protect America's citizens," Durbin said. "As t… Continue Reading