Durbin Announces $6.3 Million in Recovery Act Funding for Greater Peoria Regional Airport

[WASHINGTON, DC] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced today that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded a $6.3 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to construct a new terminal facility at Greater Peoria Regional Airport. "Construction of a new terminal facility will put Illinoisans to work immediately on a project that will contribute to the long term ability of the Peoria Airport to serve travelers safely and efficien… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces More Than $650,000 in Recovery Act Funding for Impact Aid in Illinois

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced $654,425 in funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for the repair and modernization of two Illinois school districts. Today's funding is part of an announcement by the Department of Education making $39.6 million in Impact Aid Construction grants available nationwide for communities with military bases, Indian reservations and other federal property that do not generate local tax revenues… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces $82 Million in Recovery Act Funding for Children's Health Programs

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that Illinois will receive $82,238,025 in funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for crucial health and human services programs that help to provide care for children and prevent disease. Today's funding is part of a $2.3 billion nationwide announcement by the Department of Health and Human Services to support child care for working families and ensure that more underserved Americans rece… Continue Reading

Durbin and Illinois Delegation Ask DOT to Support Revival of Illinois Train Car Industry

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today led the Illinois Congressional Delegation in asking the Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, to support their effort to revive the passenger rail car manufacturing industry in Illinois. The Department of Transportation recently announced that $90.8 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has been committed to rehabilitating train cars in the United States and returning them to service - the ave… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces $4.7 Million in Recovery Act Funding to Provide Emergency Food and Shelter

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that Illinois will receive $4,735,727 in funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to supplement and expand efforts to provide shelter, food and supportive services to the hungry, homeless and people in economic crisis. The funds will be distributed through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)'s Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program and used for supplemental food, shelt… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces $143,327 Science Funding for Illinois Institute of Technology

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the National Science Foundation has awarded $143,327 in funding to Illinois Institute of Technology for under the Institute's Department of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering. The project will improve our understanding of how geometric variations introduced during manufacturing can impact a product's performance. Manufacturing processes are inherently imprecise, producing parts and prod… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces $7.4 Million in Recovery Act Funding for Environmental Cleanup

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the state of Illinois will receive $7,402,000 in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to assess and clean up underground storage tank petroleum leaks. Today's funding is part of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announcement of $197 million nationwide for environmental cleanup which the EPA estimates will create or retain a significant number of jobs and contribute to at least … Continue Reading

81st Annual Spring Dinner of the Economic Club of Chicago

Remarks Prepared for Delivery by Senator Richard J. Durbin Economic Club and "practical economics" Grace Barry sent me a copy of the Club's 75th anniversary book. I enjoyed reading the remarks of Mr. Melvin Traylor, president of the First National Bank of Chicago, who spoke at the very first meeting of this distinguished group, back in 1927. The topic of Mr. Traylor's remarks was, "[W]hy the hell another club in Chicago?" This is how he answered his own question: He said th… Continue Reading

Addressing the Global Food Crisis

Remarks Prepared for Delivery by Senator Richard J. Durbin I want to thank my friend Dan Glickman for that generous introduction - and for his and Cathy Bertini's tireless leadership in the fight against global poverty and hunger. I want to thank them, in particular, for their leadership on The Chicago Initiative on Global Agricultural Development. I also want to acknowledge and thank Marshall Bouton for his leadership of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. The sympo… Continue Reading

Durbin and Midwest Senators Urge President to Consider Recovery Act Funding for Midwest Rail

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today led a group of Senators from Midwestern states in urging President Barack Obama to consider investing funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in rail corridors in the Midwest. The Recovery Act designates $8 billion to high speed passenger rail - a significant investment which is 17 times more funding than the federal government has invested over the last 10 years combined. "We believe the Midwest r… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces Over $4 Million in Recovery Act Funding for Illinois Airports

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the Department of Transportation has awarded $4,238,655 in grants to Illinois airports. Today's funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will create jobs in Illinois and strengthen the region's infrastructure to serve passengers safely and efficiently. • Springfield Airport Authority: $2,448,855 in funding to reconstruct a ramp at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport. This project wil… Continue Reading

On World Autism Day, Durbin, Casey, Menendez Introduce Bill to Establish a National Comprehensive Autism Strategy

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - On a day designated by the United Nations to highlight the growing global health crisis of autism, Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Robert Menendez (D- NJ) today introduced legislation that would create a comprehensive strategy to address the needs of families affected by autism spectrum disorder. The Autism Treatment Acceleration Act requires health insurers to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of auti… Continue Reading

Durbin Introduces Resolution in Support of Chicago 2016 Urban Sport Initiative

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced a resolution supporting the establishment of an Urban Youth Sports Initiative as a legacy of the City of Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The City of Chicago and Chicago 2016, in partnership with the United States Olympic Committee, propose an Urban Youth Sports Initiative to expand access for young people to quality urban youth sports programs. Today's introduction coincides with the In… Continue Reading

Durbin, Brown Introduce Legislation to Reward "Patriot Employers"

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today introduced legislation to reward companies that invest in American jobs, pay decent wages, provide good benefits, and support their employees when they are called to active duty. The Patriot Employers Act would provide a tax credit to companies that make a commitment to American workers. "When companies make headlines today it is often for all the wrong reasons: outrageous bonuses,… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Passage of the Democratic Budget Resolution

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after the Senate passed the FY10 budget resolution: "We need to face the facts - we have inherited the worst economic crisis in generations." "Last month we took an important first step toward getting our economy back on track by passing the economic recovery package. Tonight we've taken the next step by passing a smart, fair, and responsible budget that makes our economy work again.… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on the Indictment of Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) made the following statement regarding the indictment of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich on federal corruption charges: "We can only hope the former governor will not view this indictment as a green light for another publicity tour. Rod Blagojevich deserves his day in court, but the people of Illinois deserve a break."… Continue Reading

Durbin and Hinchey Introduce a Bill to Protect America's Red Rock Wilderness

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] -- In an effort to preserve 9.4 million acres of Utah's spectacular red rock country as wilderness, Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced legislation in the House and Senate that would ensure the public land remains in its natural, undeveloped state. Hinchey and Durbin's bipartisan America's Red Rock Wilderness Act, which was introduced with 105 cosponsors in the House and 15 in the Senate, would protect the land from commercia… Continue Reading

Durbin, Kennedy, DeGette & Platts Introduce Legislation to Strengthen Smoking Prevention Efforts

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) joined U.S. Representatives Diana DeGette (D-CO-1) and Todd Platts (R-PA-19) today in introducing companion pieces of legislation in the Senate and the House that provide Medicare and Medicaid coverage to tobacco cessation treatments for senior citizens, people with disabilities and low-income adults. Each year, tobacco use kills an estimated 438,000 Americans-about 1 in 5 of all deaths in the United States. Toba… Continue Reading

Durbin Introduces Duckworth at VA Hearing

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced President Obama's choice to be Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Tammy Duckworth, to the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. "Tammy's entire life has been in service to our country. She is a proven leader and public servant uniquely qualified for this position," said Durbin. "Tammy's advocacy for veterans is recognized by the veterans' com… Continue Reading

Durbin: Secretary LaHood Says Illinois Ahead in Obligating Highway Funding

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - During a meeting with Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) and members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced that Illinois is well ahead of most other states when it comes to putting highway dollars to work. So far under President Obama's Recovery Plan, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has approved the state's plan to spend $629 million on 243 projects. In all, Illinois has $935 million availabl… Continue Reading