Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Hearing on Latest Circuit And 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 DeAndrea Gist Benjamin, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit; Robert Stewart Ballou, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Virginia; Todd E. Edelman, to be United States District Judge for the District of Columbia; Kymberly Kathryn Evanson, to be United … Continue Reading

Durbin: Young Voters Turned Out in Record Numbers to Keep Our Democracy Alive

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, reflected on the recent 2022 midterm election results from across the country, which kept Senate Democrats in the majority. A record number of young voters turned out and voted to protect reproductive rights, address climate change, preserve our democracy, and much more. Durbin began his speech by highlighting President Lincoln's speech in 1862 in which he c… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on New Report on Sexual Misconduct By Bureau of Prisons Staff

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement in response to a new Department of Justice (DOJ) report assessing DOJ's response to sexual misconduct by Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) employees: "This week's DOJ report on pervasive sexual abuse in our nation's federal prisons is evidence of the desperate need for reform. The new Director, Colette Peters, needs to show resolve and Congress needs to back … Continue Reading

Durbin Visits FEMA Disaster Recovery Center in East St. Louis, Urges Residents Affected By Flooding to Apply for Federal Assistance by December 16th

EAST ST. LOUIS - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today visited the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) to discuss relief efforts after historic storms caused widespread damage across the region in July. More than $5 million in federal assistance has already been approved for St. Clair County residents across several FEMA programs. Affected residents should submit an application to FEMA as soon as possible at DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-3… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $208 Million in Federal Funding to Help Illinoisans Heat Their Homes This Winter

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $208,170,481 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to help Illinoisans pay the rising cost of home heating bills this winter. For more than 40 years, LIHEAP has provided assistance to help low-income individuals and families maintain healthy indoor temperatures during the coldest months o… Continue Reading

Durbin Discusses $16.84 Million in Federal Funding for Decatur Public Transit System Electric Fleet Efforts

DECATUR - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today visited the Decatur Public Transit System (DPTS) to discuss the $16.84 million in federal funding he secured through the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Low-No Emissions and Bus Facilities Program for the City of Decatur's electric fleet efforts. DPTS will use this funding to replace four diesel buses with hybrid buses (with the goal to eventually transition to fully electric), make electrical upgrades to convert a new facility to a bus b… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $36 Million in Federal Funding to Bring High-Speed Internet Access to Communities Across Rural Illinois

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $36,103,607 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to bring high-speed internet access to people living and working across 13 counties in Illinois. Today's investments include funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which provided a historic $65 billion to expand reliable, affordable, high-speed internet to all communities acros… Continue Reading

Durbin Receives Update From YMCA of Rock River Valley on Plans for Youth Center Following $750,000 Earmark

ROCKFORD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today visited the YMCA of Rock River Valley to discuss the $750,000 in federal funding he and U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17) secured through Congressionally Directed Spending-commonly known as an earmark-in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 omnibus appropriations bill to renovate the old Lutheran Church of Good Shepherd to house a Youth Center. This funding will allow the YMCA to refurbish and expand the space, including a recreational space and a r… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $8 Million in Federal Funding for Kaskaskia Regional Port District Project

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the Kaskaskia Regional Port District Project will receive $8,000,000 in federal funding through the Department of Transportation's Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP), which is administered by the U.S. Maritime Administration. With this funding, the Kaskaskia Regional Port District Project will install new rail tracks to create yard near an existing port terminal in … Continue Reading

Durbin Announces $450,000 For Chicago State University Health Sciences Simulation Lab

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today visited Chicago State University (CSU) to discuss the $450,000 in federal funding he secured through Congressionally Directed Spending-more commonly known as an earmark-in the Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) Omnibus appropriations bill to purchase science laboratory equipment for their Health Sciences Simulation Lab. This funding will be used to help students learn best practices in pediatric and home health care, as well as support a workforce pipeline of… Continue Reading

Durbin, Schiff Demand Google And Youtube Crack Down on Dangerous Incel Content

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA) urged the CEOs of Alphabet and YouTube to take new, aggressive actions to limit the spread of extreme and harmful incel content on their platforms. Incels, or "involuntary celibates," are individuals - typically young men - who express extreme hatred of women and women's equality, and believe women should be subjugated by men. According to a newly-releas… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $1.48 Million for Nursing Education Programs in Illinois

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced a total of $1,483,510 in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grants for Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville and Loyola University in Chicago. The HHS funding was awarded through the Clinical Faculty and Preceptor Academies Program and the Registered Nurse Training Program. The Clinical Faculty and Preceptor Academies Program supports partnerships between ac… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Lead Colleagues in Call to EPA to Strengthen the Lead and Copper Rule to Replace Harmful Lead Pipes

WASHINGTON - During National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a member of the Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works, along with 13 of their Senate colleagues, wrote to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in support of steps they have taken to develop and implement the Biden Administration's historic Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan. In light of EPA's decision to draft Lead and Copper Rule … Continue Reading

Durbin Announces $8.25 Million in Federal Funding For Electric Bus Infrastructure In Illinois

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced distribution details for the $8.25 million in federal funding that he secured in the Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) Omnibus appropriations bill for electric buses. The funding, which was earmarked by Durbin for his Statewide Electric Bus and Charging Infrastructure Program, will go toward building up the state's fleet of electric buses and constructing electric vehicle charging stati… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Quigley, Casten, Schakowsky Call on USPS Board of Governors to Protect Postal Workers After Inaction From Postmaster General Dejoy

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representatives Mike Quigley (D-IL-5), Sean Casten (D-IL-6), and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-9) sent a letter to the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors to express their concern over the inadequate response to the rise in violent crime against mail carriers. The letter comes after the lawmakers received an apathetic response to a Durbin-led letter in July that called on Postmaster General Louis DeJo… Continue Reading

Durbin, Blumenthal, Scanlon Urge Justice Department to Publicly Disclose Data on Prosecution of Corporate Crime

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee; U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT); and U.S. Representative Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) today sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to expand its Department-wide corporate crime data collection. "Comprehensive Department-wide data collection and a searchable public database of the resolutions of Department actions against corporations and individ… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Colleagues in Urging DOJ & ATF To Clarify & Enforce Ghost Guns Rule

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and thirteen Senate colleagues in urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to issue enforcement guidance and clarify the recently finalized Ghost Gun Rule. The rule regulates unfinished frames and receivers that are the core components used to construct ghost guns, which have become the prefe… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Applaud the Biden Administration for Approving Illinois Disaster Declaration Following July's Severe Flash Floods

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today applauded the Biden Administration for approving Governor JB Pritzker's request for federal assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to the State of Illinois, to help St. Clair County respond to significant damage from the flash floods from July 25-28. In August, Durbin and Duckworth led the entire Illinois Congressional delegation in sending a letter to President Biden … Continue Reading

Durbin, Warren Urge Department of Education to Hold Predatory For-Profit College Executives Accountable for Scamming Students

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) today sent a letter along with U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI), to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona urging him to use the Department of Education's authority to hold executives and owners of predatory for-profit colleges accountable for scamming students out of a meaningful education and saddling them with insurmountabl… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces $600,000 For Expansion of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Services At Swedish Hospital

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today visited Swedish Hospital to discuss the $600,000 Office of Victims of Crime (OVC) grant from the Department of Justice (DOJ) that will allow them to expand and strengthen their Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Program. The SANE program supports victims of sexual assault by enhancing best practice care and forensic evidence collection, supporting the recruitment and retention of nurse examiners, strengthening the community response to sexual ass… Continue Reading