Press Releases
Durbin Delivers Commencement Address At Northeastern Illinois University, Awarded Honorary Doctorate Of Humane Letters
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) delivered the commencement address to Northeastern Illinois University's (NEIU) Class of 2022 during a ceremony Sunday at the Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago. Durbin was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. During his address, Durbin noted that, like many of the graduates, he is the child of an immigrant and he and his brothers were the first generation in their family to attend college. Durbin emphasized that one of the great tests of our … Continue Reading
December 09, 2022
Wilmette, Illinois, Student Interns In Durbin's Washington, D.C. Office
WASHINGTON - Wilmette, Illinois, resident Lauren Mlynek spent this fall interning for U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), working behind the scenes in the Senator's Capitol Hill office as an intern. "I started my career on Capitol Hill as a college intern for Senator Paul Douglas of Illinois," Durbin said. "I will never forget that day in February of 1966 when he agreed to hire me as an intern to work in his office. As a student from East St. Louis, Illinois, going to work in the … Continue Reading
December 09, 2022
Durbin Announces Fall 2022 Recipient Of The Ed Greelegs Scholarship Program, Nancy Pulido
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced Nancy Pulido, a senior at the George Washington University from Waukegan, Illinois, as the fall 2022 recipient of the Ed Greelegs Scholarship Program. This scholarship, open to students and recent graduates from Illinois or those studying in Illinois, is an opportunity for the students to receive financial assistance while interning in Senator Durbin's office. The program was created in honor of Durbin's former Chief of … Continue Reading
December 09, 2022
Wilmette, Illinois, Student Interns In Durbin’s Washington, D.C. Office
WASHINGTON - Wilmette, Illinois, resident Elizabeth Smith spent this fall interning for U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), working behind the scenes in the Senator's Capitol Hill office as an intern. "I started my career on Capitol Hill as a college intern for Senator Paul Douglas of Illinois," Durbin said. "I will never forget that day in February of 1966 when he agreed to hire me as an intern to work in his office. As a student from East St. Louis, Illinois, going to work in the … Continue Reading
December 09, 2022
Springfield, Illinois, Student Interns In Durbin’s Washington, D.C. Office
WASHINGTON - Springfield, Illinois, native Colin Kerr spent this fall interning for U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), working behind the scenes in the Senator's Capitol Hill office as an intern. "I started my career on Capitol Hill as a college intern for Senator Paul Douglas of Illinois," Durbin said. "I will never forget that day in February of 1966 when he agreed to hire me as an intern to work in his office. As a student from East St. Louis, Illinois, going to work in the … Continue Reading
December 09, 2022
Naperville, Illinois, Student Interns In Durbin’s Washington, D.C. Office
WASHINGTON - Naperville, Illinois, native Charlotte Ives spent this fall interning for U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), working behind the scenes in the Senator's Capitol Hill office as an intern. "I started my career on Capitol Hill as a college intern for Senator Paul Douglas of Illinois," Durbin said. "I will never forget that day in February of 1966 when he agreed to hire me as an intern to work in his office. As a student from East St. Louis, Illinois, going to work in the … Continue Reading
December 09, 2022
Normal, Illinois, Student Interns in Durbin's Washington, D.C. Office
WASHINGTON - Normal, Illinois, native Chandler Huffman spent this fall interning for U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), working behind the scenes in the Senator's Capitol Hill office as an intern. "I started my career on Capitol Hill as a college intern for Senator Paul Douglas of Illinois," Durbin said. "I will never forget that day in February of 1966 when he agreed to hire me as an intern to work in his office. As a student from East St. Louis, Illinois, going to work in the … Continue Reading
December 09, 2022
Durbin Announces $2.9 Million For Chicago Public Schools And Illinois State Board of Education for Trauma-Informed Care in Schools
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today visited George Westinghouse College Prep to discuss the recent awarding of two federal grants totaling $2.9 million to Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) fortrauma-informed care in schools. These awards to break the cycle of violence and improve student mental health services are provided by a grant program created by Durbin and U.S. Representative Danny K. Davis (D-IL-7) in the 2018 SUPPORT forPatients … Continue Reading
December 09, 2022
Durbin, Cassidy Applaud Senate Passage Of Bipartisan Legislation To Support Leading Rehab Hospitals
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) applaud Senate passage of their bipartisan legislation to support rehabilitation facilities that lead the nation in medical research and complex treatment. The Dr. Joanne Smith Memorial Rehabilitation Innovation Centers Act recognizes the unique role that a leading class of rehabilitation facilities play in our health care system, by driving innovative research for the entire field, providing a … Continue Reading
December 09, 2022
Durbin, Murray Introduce Legislation to Ensure Victims of Discrimination Can Seek Damages In Court Following Harmful SCOTUS Ruling
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), introduced legislation to clarify that victims of discrimination can seek damages for emotional harm under federal law after the Supreme Court curtailed their ability to do so in its April ruling in Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller. The Clarifying Civil Right Remedies Act of … Continue Reading
December 09, 2022
Judiciary Committee Advances Nominations Of One Circuit Court Judge & Four District Court Judges
WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced 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; Kymberly Kathryn Evanson, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Washington; Myong J. Joun, to be United States District Judge for the District of Massachusetts; and Colleen R. Lawless, to be United States District … Continue Reading
December 08, 2022
Durbin Commemorates Rob Portman's Senate Tenure With Speech On Senate Floor
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today took to the Senate floor to pay tribute to U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) ahead of his retirement at the end of the 117th Congress. Durbin began his remarks by thanking Portman for being his Republican counterpart in establishing the bipartisan Senate Ukraine Caucus and standing against the outrageous acts of violence perpetrated by Vladimir Putin against Ukraine. "We've worked on many things together over the years, but I … Continue Reading
December 08, 2022
Durbin Re-Elected As Senate Democratic WHIP For 118th Congress
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after being unanimously re-elected as the Senate's second-highest ranking Democrat, the Senate Democratic Whip, for the 118th Congress by his Senate Democratic colleagues this morning. Durbin has served in the number two role in the caucus since 2005. Durbin will also continue in his role as Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "I am honored to continue to serve the Senate Democratic Caucus as … Continue Reading
December 08, 2022
Durbin Honors Senate Tenure of Roy Blunt
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) paid tribute to U.S. Senator Roy Blunt's (R-MO) tenure in the Senate ahead of Blunt's retirement at the end of the 117th Congress. Durbin began his speech by praising Blunt's commitment to working across the aisle to ensure that water infrastructure projects along the shared Illinois-Missouri border were adequately funded. "Many of the locks and dams that keep the [Mississippi] river navigable are nearly a hundred years old. For … Continue Reading
December 07, 2022
Durbin, Duckworth Statement On Senate Judiciary Committee Advancing Nomination Of Colleen Lawless To Serve As District Court Judge For The Central District Of Illinois
WASHINGTON - 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 Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance Judge Colleen Lawless to serve as a District Court Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois: "We are pleased that the Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced the nomination of Judge Colleen Lawless to serve as a District Court Judge … Continue Reading
December 07, 2022
Durbin Meets With U.S. Sentencing Commission On Implementing Provisions in First Step Act Into Sentencing Guidelines
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today met with the U.S. Sentencing Commission to discuss policy priorities for the upcoming sentencing guideline amendment cycle, including implementing provisions from Durbin's bipartisan First Step Act. During their meeting, Durbin encouraged the Commission to update the guidelines to reflect the First Step Act's expanded eligibility for "safety valve" relief from mandatory minimum sentences … Continue Reading
December 07, 2022
Durbin, Rubio Applaud Committee Passage of 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) today announced the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) advanced their 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. The legislation was introduced in the House by Representatives Karen Bass (D-CA) and Chris Smith (R-NJ). … Continue Reading
December 07, 2022
Durbin Calls On Senate To Pass Immigration Reform Legislation Before The End Of The Year
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and author of the Dream Act, spoke on the Senate floor today about the reported immigration deal between Senators Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), as well as the urgency of passing the Dream Act this Congress to protect Dreamers from deportation. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has allowed hundreds of thousands of Dreamers to thrive in the United States. … Continue Reading
December 07, 2022
Durbin, MLB Announce New Netting Requirements For All Professional Development League Clubs To Increase Fan Safety
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Major League Baseball (MLB) announced a new requirement today to have extensive protective netting in place at all Professional Development League (PDL) ballparks. The fan safety initiative was adopted at the 2022 Winter Meetings after being unanimously approved by the MLB PDL Executive Board. In June 2019, after repeated incidents of MLB fans being hit by foul balls, Durbin and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) wrote to MLB … Continue Reading
December 07, 2022
Durbin Highlights Resilience of Ukrainian People Amid Putin's War
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus and Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, reflected on the resilience of the Ukrainian people and continued allied unity amid Putin's unprovoked and illegal war. Yesterday, Durbin hosted members of the Ukrainian Parliament to receive an update on Putin's war, and discuss calls for a special tribunal to hold Russian leaders accountable for the crime of … Continue Reading