In A Letter To Illinois Public Schools, Durbin Highlights Federal Funds That Support Mental Health And Counseling Efforts In Bipartisan Gun Safety Bill

CHICAGO - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent a letter to Illinois education leaders highlighting the federal funds secured through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act for mental health services to help students prevent and cope with the emotional scars related to gun violence. The bill provides $3 billion for school and community mental health grants and activities to support counseling and trauma-informed care, including at least $28 million over four years for the Trauma… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $2,000,000 For WIU's New Emergency Operations Center

MACOMB - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $2,000,000 in new Congressionally Directed Spending they secured in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 omnibus appropriations bill for Western Illinois University's (WIU) new Emergency Operations Center. The federal funds will renovate WIU's library to add a permanent emergency operations center (EOC) for the region. The center will also train public safety professionals and provide apprenticeships for the next generatio… Continue Reading

Durbin Visits USP Thomson Amid Investigation Into Inmate Deaths, Allegations Of Abuse

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and lead cosponsor of the First Step Act, and staff from the offices of U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17) today visited United States Penitentiary Thomson (USP Thomson), a Bureau of Prison (BOP) facility in Thomson, Illinois. In addition to touring the facility, Durbin met with the penitentiary's Warden and institution leadership, as well as the BOP… Continue Reading

Durbin, Mayor Lightfoot, Transportation Leaders Announce Coalition in Support of the Chicago Union Station Access Project

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot, and regional transportation leaders joined together at Chicago Union Station to announce a broad coalition of leaders in support of the Chicago Union Station Access Project, which will transform passenger rail in the region. The $418 million project is a joint effort by Amtrak, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), the City of Chicago, Metra, Cook County, and Michigan's Department of Transportat… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Bustos Secure $15 Million For New Air Traffic Control Tower At Peoria International Airport

PEORIA - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17) today announced $15 million in federal funding awarded to the General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to construct the airport's new Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT). Durbin, Duckworth, and Bustos secured language in the IIJA making the outdated air traffic control tower eligible for federal funding. In … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $400,000 In ARP Funding To Support The Pullman National Monument Project, Rockford Area Convention And Visitors Bureau

CHICAGO - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that, thanks to the American Rescue Plan, the Pullman National Monument Project and the Rockford Area Convention and Visitors Bureau will receive a total of $407,500 in federal funding to improve travel and tourism following the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding, awarded through the Economic Development Administration, will renovate and upgrade the Historic Pullman National Monument in Chicago, and invest in the R… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces $750,000 For UCAN's Trauma-Informed Violence Prevention Programming

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today announced $750,000 in new Congressionally Directed Spending-also known as an earmark-in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 omnibus appropriations bill for UCAN to expand its trauma-informed violence prevention and intervention program to more communities. Programming includes individual and group coaching, mediation, planning and case management, and mental health services to individuals who have experienced trauma… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On FDA's Decision To Stay JUUL Marketing Denial

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement on the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) decision to "stay" its marketing denial order of all JUUL Lab Inc.'s products after previously finding these e-cigarettes fail to meet the agency's public health standard for authorization: "I was heartened two weeks ago when FDA finally acted to remove JUUL e-cigarettes from the market. After a lengthy review, FDA scientists determined that JUUL failed to meet th… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $14 Million For Varity Of Health Care Programs And Initiatives

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $14,446,505 for a variety of health care programs, initiatives, and community projects across the state. "Illinois has a wide-range of initiatives and programs aimed at keeping residents healthy-from efforts to end the HIV epidemic, to preventing strokes and heart disease, to advancing our understanding and treatment of Alzheimer's. This robust federal funding will help these progr… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $2.4 Million For Education Programs For Illinois Medical Professionals

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $2,438,724 for education programs for Illinois medical professionals. The funding will go toward Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago's Graduate Medical Education Program and Loyola University of Chicago's Nurse Faculty Loan Program. "The medical field is constantly evolving. To keep up with the latest lifesaving treatments and medical advancements, we must invest in continuing edu… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Supreme Court Decision Gutting EPA Authority

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding the Supreme Court's decision in West Virginia v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): "EPA has the critical task of addressing our climate crisis and ensuring that Americans have clean air to breathe. Congress gave that authority to EPA with the Clean Air Act, which the Supreme Court has affirmed again and again. Today's decision by this Sup… Continue Reading

Durbin Urges U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers To Include Cahokia Heights Residents In Water Infrastructure Project Planning

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Environmental Justice Caucus, today sent a letter to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) St. Louis District Engineer & Commander Colonel Kevin R. Golinghorst urging him to use the funding Durbin secured in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Fiscal Year 2022 Omnibus Appropriations Act to remedy the persistent water infrastructure issues in Cahokia Heights, Illinois. In his letter, Durbin emphasizes the … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $5.5 Million For Health Care Research In Illinois

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $5,505,820 in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) biomedical research grants for Illinois institutions. The funding will be put toward research programs across the state to support medical advancement in various fields, ranging from neurological diseases to biological chemistry research. "Federal investments in biomedical research lead to new jobs, new treatments, an… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Shaheen, Tillis, Bipartisan Congressional Delegation Statement As Path Clears For Finland & Sweden's Accession Into NATO

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Chris Coons (D-DE), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Roy Blunt (R-MO), and Joni Ernst (R-IA) in a joint statement on the announcement that an agreement was reached and Turkey will drop its hold on Finland and Sweden's application to join the transatlantic Alliance. Durbin and the Senators are currently at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Madrid to discuss congressio… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $9.8 Million For Head Start 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 $9,818,557 in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grants to support Head Start services for children under the age of five in receiving wrap-around support in early learning and development. The funding will go to Wabash Area Development, Inc. and Parent & Child Together for West Central Illinois, allocating $5,218,606 and $4,599,951 to the organization… Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley, Blumenthal, Lee Seek Information About Antitrust And Minor League Baseball

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee; U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee; U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chair of the Subcommittee on The Constitution; and U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, today sent a bipartisan request for information regarding the impact of Major League Baseball's (MLB) a… Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley Seek Additional Clarity From DHS IG On Alleged Suppression And Delay Of Widespread Sexual Harassment And Misconduct Findings

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, are once again pressing the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) to address reports that it has delayed and downplayed reports of sexual harassment and misconduct at DHS. In an April 26 letter to DHS Inspector General (IG) Joseph Cuffari, the Senators cited documents released… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With U.S. Ambassador To Japan, Rahm Emanuel

WASHINGTON - Last week, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) met with U.S. Ambassador to Japan and former Chicago Mayor, Rahm Emanuel. During the meeting, they discussed the continued strong relationship between U.S. and Japan as well as President Biden's visit to Japan, where he launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity economic initiative. "Japan is an important strategic partner in Asia, particularly in light of continued challenges with North Korea and China," said… Continue Reading

Durbin In Lithuania, Sweden, Spain To Discuss Support For NATO & Baltic States, Opposition To Russian Agression

VILNIUS-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Baltic Freedom Caucus and the Senate Ukraine Caucus, is in Vilnius, Lithuania, today as part of travel to three European nations to discuss congressional support for the transatlantic relationship and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), as well as continued Russian aggression and interference in western democracies. In Vilnius, Durbin received the Aleksandras Stulginskis Star Award-only the second individual and … Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Supreme Court Decision To Overturn Roe v. Wade

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement on the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Durbin also announced that the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on July 12 that will examine a post-Roe America. "Today's decision eliminates a federally protected constitutional right that has been the law for nearly half a century. As a result, millions of Americ… Continue Reading