Durbin, Duckworth Meet With Boeing CEO Following Decision To Move Headquarters From Chicago

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with Boeing President and CEO David Calhoun to discuss Boeing's recent decision to move its global headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, Virginia. The Senators wrote a letter urging Calhoun to maintain a strong presence in Chicago after the May 5th announcement. In the letter, the Senators emphasized the impact Boeing's relocation would have on Illinois' economy. Currently, Boeing's head… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Lead Colleagues In Calling On DOJ To Ensure Government Websites Comply With The ADA

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) led a group of 10 Senators in urging the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to provide better guidance and regulations to help State and local governments better comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act's (ADA) accessibility requirements on their websites, mobile applications and other forms of technology. In a letter sent to Attorney General Merrick G… Continue Reading

Durbin Urges Colleagues To Support The Bipartisan Honoring Out PACT Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today spoke on the Senate floor in support of the bipartisan Honoring Our PACT Act, which is being considered on the Senate floor this week. The legislation will expand eligibility for health care for veterans suffering from toxic exposure in the line of duty and directs the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to devote the resources and personnel needed to process new claims and treat new patients. It also supports VA medical rese… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on New Bipartisan Gun Safety Framework

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after a bipartisan group of Senators announced a common sense new proposal to help keep America's children and communities safe from the gun violence epidemic: "We have been elected to the United States Senate to respond to American crises. Each of the elements in this bipartisan gun safety package has the potential to save lives. I continue to believe mi… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Forward Recommendations For Central District Of Illinois District Court Judge To White House

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today sent a list of names to the White House to consider for a forthcoming Springfield-based federal district court judicial vacancy in the Central District of Illinois. Based on recommendations made by the screening committee the Senators established in the Central District, Durbin and Duckworth have forwarded the names of the following three individual… Continue Reading

Durbin Highlights Federal Efforts To Address Skyrocketing Cost Of Insulin For Patients

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined doctors to call for the passage of federal legislation to reduce the price of insulin for patients impacted by diabetes. Durbin is an original co-sponsor of the Affordable Insulin Now Act, which would cap the monthly cost of insulin at $35 per month for patients. Approximately eight million Americans-a quarter-million in Illinois-rely on insulin to manage their blood sugar levels. However, studies show that more than one-quarter of patie… Continue Reading

ICYMI: Ahead Of House Hearing On January 6 Insurrection, Judiciary Committee Details Critical Findings From October 2021 Reporter Obtained Through Senate Investigation

WASHINGTON - In case you missed it: Following an eight-month investigation, the Senate Judiciary Committee released testimony and a staff report in October 2021 entitled Subverting Justice: How the Former President and his Allies Pressured DOJ to Overturn the 2020 Election. The report and testimony reveal that we were only a half-step away from a full blown constitutional crisis as President Donald Trump and his loyalists threatened a wholesale takeover of the Department of Justice (DOJ). They… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Cosponsor Puerto Rican Self-Determination Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced their cosponsorship of U.S. Senator Bob Menendez's (D-NJ) Puerto Rican Self-Determination Act, legislation that would enable Puerto Ricans to determine their own political future and relationship with the United States. Under this legislation, a status convention would be created for residents to decide what kind of status they want going forward, and allow them to propose this statu… Continue Reading

Durbin Slams BOP Mismanagement, Allegations Of Abuse At USP Thomson

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today spoke about a disturbing new report published by NPR and the Marshall Project that details the deaths of seven incarcerated men and allegations of serious abuses by staff at the United States Penitentiary Thomson (USP Thomson). "It's no secret that the Federal Bureau of Prisons has been plagued by misconduct. One investigation after another has revealed a c… Continue Reading

Durbin And Bill Gates Talk Global Health, Increasing Public Health Infrastructures Worldwide

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, about the state of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. During their meeting, Durbin and Gates spoke about preparing for future public health crises by strengthening health systems in developing countries, enhancing integrated global disease monitoring, and addressing existing gaps in public health services. They also discussed challenges and opportunities in addr… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Bustos Announce Inspector General Investigation Into Inmate Deaths, Allegations Of Abuses At USP Thomson

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and lead cosponsor of the First Step Act; U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL); and U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17) today announced that the Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General (IG) is investigating allegations concerning a Bureau of Prison (BOP) facility in Thomson, Illinois. Today's announcement follows a letter the lawmakers sent to IG Michael Horowitz last week calling for … Continue Reading

Durbin: Keeping Our Democracy Require Vigilance And Truth

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke on the Senate floor ahead of the first public hearing held by the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. This evening, the Committee will begin to lay out publicly, for the first time, the coordinated plan to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential election and prevent the peaceful transition of power to a new Administration. During Durbin's speech, he highlighted the need to… Continue Reading

Durbin Again Urges Cardona To Grant Borrower Defense Discharges For Illinois Westwood College Students Following Corinthian College Student Loan Discharge

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona urging him to issue widespread federal student loan debt relief to the approximately 3,600 Illinois students who were defrauded by Westwood College. Referencing the Department of Education's recent move to provide $6 billion in relief to student borrowers who attended Corinthian Colleges or Marinello Schools of Beauty regardless of whether students applied for borrower def… Continue Reading

Judiciary Committee Advances Nominations Of Two Circuit Court Judges, Three District Court Judges And Three U.S. Attorneys

WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced the nominations of John Z. Lee, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Seventh Circuit; Salvador Mendoza, Jr., to be United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit; Stephen Henley Locher, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Iowa; Nancy L. Maldonado, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois; and Gregory Brian Williams, to be United States District Judge for the District of … Continue Reading

Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Nominations Of John Lee To The Seventh Circuit And Nancy Maldonado To The Northern District Of Illinois

WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced the nominations John Z. Lee to be United States Circuit Judge for the Seventh Circuit and Nancy L. Maldonado to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. 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 on their nominations: "We are pleased that the Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced Jud… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls On FDA Commissioner To Do His Job To Protect Our Children From E-Cigarettes Or Step Aside

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement calling on Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf to immediately clear the market of unauthorized, kid-friendly e-cigarettes or step aside. The court-ordered deadline for FDA to finish reviewing e-cigarette applications was September 9, 2021, exactly nine months ago, and yet the FDA has still not finished its review of these products-leaving dangerous, kid-friendly e-cigare… Continue Reading

Following Judiciary Committee Hearing On Domestic Terrorism, Durbin Urges Senate To Act To Combat Hateful Ideology That Has Inspired Mass Shootings

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke on the Senate floor urging the Senate to combat domestic terrorism and prevent the next mass shooting. Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on domestic terrorism following the mass shooting in Buffalo that killed ten Black Americans in a racist act of violence. The hearing-the Committee's third on domestic terrorism this Congress-explored the continued threat posed by vio… Continue Reading

In Virtual Meeting, Durbin Thanks Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence For Its Advocacy

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today met virtually with the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ILCADV) to personally thank the group for its continued advocacy for survivors of domestic violence. On the call, Durbin and ILCADV also discussed securing adequate funding for Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) programs in Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations. "Since its initial enactment, VAWA has saved countless lives. VAWA p… Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley, Whitehouse, Cornyn Bill To Help Small Businesses & Families In Bankruptcy Heads To President Biden's Desk

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and John Cornyn (R-TX), applauded passage of their bipartisan legislation to help small businesses and individuals stay afloat during bankruptcy in the House of Representatives last night. The bill, which cleared the House on a vote of 392-21, was already passed unani… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With March For Our Lives To Discuss Common Sense Gun Legislation

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today met with representatives from March For Our Lives. During their meeting, Durbin discussed the ongoing negotiations in the Senate to address the scourge of gun violence that kills more than 100 Americans each day. Durbin expressed his own support for common sense gun violence prevention solutions like closing gaps in the gun background check system. "This week, we've heard the families of th… Continue Reading