Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Judiciary Committee Hearing On District Court Nominations

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nominations of Charnelle Bjelkengren, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Washington; Matthew P. Brookman, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Indiana; Michael Farbiarz, to be United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey; Robert Kirsch, to be U… Continue Reading

Following The 50th Anniversary Of Roe v. Wade, Durbin Recommits To Protecting Reproductive Rights

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, recommitted to protecting reproductive rights following the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. During his speech, Durbin condemned the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned a nearly 50-year-old precedent that had been reaffirmed multiple times. "For those of us who were alive when Roe was decided, we rememb… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions Witnesses During Judiciary Committee Hearing On Problems In America’s Ticketing & Live Entertainment Markets

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned witnesses at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing examining the lack of competition in the ticketing industry titled, "That's the Ticket: Promoting Competition and Protecting Consumers in Live Entertainment." Durbin began by asking Clyde Lawrence of the band Lawrence about the pricing of tickets before pressing Joe Berchtold, President and CFO of Live Nation Entertainment (Tick… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce Cms Funding To Address Physician Shortage In Illinois

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has awarded new Medicare Graduate Medical Education funding to support an additional 14 residency slots for hospitals in Illinois. With this new federal funding, five Illinois hospitals will be able to expand their medical training opportunities for new doctors, in order to help address the nation's physician shortage. "Our health care professio… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Association Of American Railroads To Discuss Employee Benefits

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Ian Jeffries, CEO of the Association of American Railroads (AAR), to discuss improving employee benefits for rail workers, including additional sick leave and personal time. While the most recent rail and labor agreement that Congress approved in December prevented a strike and provided rail workers with the largest wage increase in 50 years, it did little to reform point-based attendance policies - which enforce attendanc… Continue Reading

Durbin, Rubio Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Extend Authorization On Global Basic Education

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Reinforcing Education Accountability in Development (READ) Act of 2017 for an additional five years to equitably expand access to basic education for children around the globe. In the 117th Congress, the legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives by U.S. Reps. Karen Bass (D-CA) and Chris Smith (R-NJ). "Given the terrible learning loss a… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Judiciary Committee Hearing On Problems In America’s Ticketing & Live Entertainment Markets

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing examining the lack of competition in the ticketing industry titled, "That's the Ticket: Promoting Competition and Protecting Consumers in Live Entertainment." Key quotes: "Live event ticketing garnered a lot of attention in the end of 2022. Most notably, in November, Ticketmaster's systems failed during the pre-sale… Continue Reading

Durbin: Senate Democrats Are Ready To Negotiate And Work In Good Faith For A Better Future For All Americans

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) highlighted how the many legislative accomplishments of the last Congress improved the lives of Americans. He noted that while many of the achievements of the 117thCongress passed with the support of President Biden and Congressional Democrats, other historic victories were bipartisan. He called on Senators of both parties to make the new Congress, which started its legislative work today, equally … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce CMS Funding to Address Physician Shortage in Illinois

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has awarded new Medicare Graduate Medical Education funding to support an additional 14 residency slots for hospitals in Illinois. With this new federal funding, five Illinois hospitals will be able to expand their medical training opportunities for new doctors, in order to help address the nation's physician shortage. "Our health care profession… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Applaud More Than $5.7 Million in Full-Service Community Schools Grants for Illinois Institutions

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today applauded the U.S. Department of Education for awarding $5,705,969 in Full-Service Community Schools grants to education institutions and community organizations in Illinois. The grant funding will allow schools to partner with community organizations and institutions of higher education to provide wrap-around services in academics, mental health programming, and nutrition to address students' needs. Well-implemented… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on SCOTUS Report Regarding Dobbs Leak

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement regarding the announcement by the Supreme Court that the person(s) responsible for the leaked draft majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization remains unknown: "The leak of the majority draft opinion in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case was an unacceptable breach of the Supreme Court's confidentiality and trust. As… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce Application Process For U.S. Attorney in Northern District of Illinois

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced on January 19th that they will begin accepting applications from those interested in serving as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. The Senators will be assisted by a screening committee that the Senators established in 2021 to review and vet candidates for judicial and Department of Justice positions and to advise the Senators r… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Applaud Nomination of Jeffrey Cummings & Lashonda Hunt to Serve As District Court Judges For the Northern District Of Illinois

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released the following statement after the White House announced its intent to nominate Jeffrey Cummings and LaShonda Hunt to serve as District Court Judges on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois: "We are pleased that President Biden is nominating Judge Jeffrey Cummings and Judge LaShonda Hunt to fill judicial vacancies for the N… Continue Reading

Durbin Visit Bloomington-Normal Connect Transit to Celebrate 15.8 Million in Federal Funding For Electric Vehicles

NORMAL – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today visited Connect Transit, the Bloomington-Normal Transit Agency, to celebrate the $15.8 million in federal funding they received from the Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) omnibus appropriations bill and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to help convert the agency’s transit fleet to electric vehicles. With this earmark and grant funding, more than 50 percent of Connect Transit’s fleet will be electric by 2024.  “The green technology that is ad… Continue Reading

Durbin Visits Sangamon Mass Transit District to Celebrate $5.9 Million in Federal Funding From Department of Transportation's Low-No Emissions Bus Program

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today visited Sangamon Mass Transit District (SMTD) to celebrate the $5.9 million in federal funding they received from the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Low-No Emissions Bus Program. This federal funding will allow SMTD to replace eight of their diesel buses with four natural gas buses and four hybrid electric/diesel buses. "Low emission vehicles are quickly becoming the backbone of our nation's infrastructure," said Durbin. "With publi… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On The Appointment of A Special Counsel to Investigate Classified Documents

CHICAGO - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement regarding the Attorney General's appointment of Robert Hur as Special Counsel to investigate the reported discovery of classified documents at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C. and the Bidens' personal residence in Wilmington, Delaware: "Attorney General Garland has committed to avoiding even the appearance of politicization at the Justice Department, … Continue Reading

Durbin Urges President Biden to Revoke Former President Bolsonaro's U.S. Visa Following Attacks on Brazil's Government Institutions

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to President Biden urging the Administration to review the U.S. visa of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is now in Florida, after his supporters stormed and ransacked Brazil's Congress, the Supreme Court, and the presidential palace in an attempt to undermine the recent free and fair election of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Durbin also announced plans t… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Statement on U.S. Attorney John Lausch's Decision to Step Down

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released the following statement after it was announced that United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch will leave the Justice Department early this year: "We thank U.S. Attorney Lausch for serving the Northern District of Illinois with professionalism and without partisanship for the last five years. Although Mr. Lausch … Continue Reading

Durbin, Bipartisan Colleagues Joint Statement on Further Democratic Backsliding in Bolivia

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Jim Risch (R-ID) released the following joint statement on continued democratic backsliding in Bolivia, including the continued jailing of interim president Jeanine Áñez and recent arrest of local governor and opposition leader Luis Fernando Camacho: "Bolivian President Luis Arce is facing a critical test of democratic lea… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Classified Documents Found At Penn Biden Center

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding reports that Attorney General Merrick Garland has assigned U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch to review the discovery of classified documents from the Obama-Biden Administration at the Penn Biden Center, a Washington, D.C. based think tank: "I applaud President Biden and Attorney General Garland for their professional, no… Continue Reading