Durbin, Stratton Join Local Officials to Cut Ribbon On Latest Completed Segment of Springfield Rail Improvements Project

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today attended the ribbon cutting for the new 5th and 6th Street Bridges, which are part of the Springfield Rail Improvements Project. The 5th and 6th Street Bridges Project includes new double-track bridges for the Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific corridors at 5th and 6th Streets. It also includes grading, drainage, and trackwork from north of 6th Street to Stanford Avenue. This project improves rail safety and vehicle height restrictions on the h… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Urge Department of Education to Strengthen Regulations Against Informal Removal of Students From Class as a Form of Discipline

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today sent a letter to the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights calling for "informal removal" to be included in the final rulemaking for Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. As the Senators reiterate in their letter, including informal removal in Section 504 regulations would protect students, particularly those with disabilities, from the discriminatory use of informal remo… Continue Reading

Durbin, Welch Statement on Federal Reserve's New Rule to Ensure Debit Card Competition

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Congressman Peter Welch (D-VT) released the following statement after the Federal Reserve finalized updates to the Board's rule concerning debit card transactions: "For years we have worked to bring fairness and competition to debit and credit card swipe fees, and this is a big step forward. The Federal Reserve's rulemaking is a win for competition and good news for Main Street merchants and consumers who are tired of big ban… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces $200,000 For Lawndale Christian Legal Center Community-Based Legal Services

LAWNDALE - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today visited Lawndale Christian Legal Center (LCLC) to discuss the $200,000 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 support and enhance LCLC's ongoing community-based legal services. "Too many of our children have been exposed to tremendous amounts of trauma, which has long term consequences on their ability to succeed and t… Continue Reading

Durbin, Marshall Introduce Amendment to NDAA to Address High Swipe Fees Affecting Our Veterans

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS) introduced two amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to address excessively high credit and debit card swipe fees that burden American consumers, small businesses, and veterans. Their first amendment would direct the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Treasury Department to issue a report about a current law, 10 USC 1065, that requires some veteran populations including P… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $58 Million for Variety of Illinois Health Care Programs and Initiatives

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $58,988,919 for a variety of health care programs, initiatives, and community projects across the state. "Illinois is home to a wide-range of programs and health care initiatives dedicated to keeping residents healthy," said Durbin. "With this robust federal funding, these programs and institutions can continue improving the well-being of all Illinoisans-whether that means helping f… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $31 Million for Health Care Research in Illinois

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $31,055,926 in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) medical 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 cancer prevention to vision research. "Federal investments in medical research equip Illinois' inst… Continue Reading

Durbin: The Senate Judiciary Committee Will Proceed With Previously-Scheduled Nominations Hearing on October 12

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding the upcoming Committee schedule after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced that the Senate will hold its next floor votes after November's midterm elections: "While the Senate will now be in recess, the Judiciary Committee will hold a previously-scheduled hearing on judicial nominations on Wednesday, October 12. "While it is my prer… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions New BOP Director During Senate Judiciary Committee Oversight Hearing

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned Colette Peters, the new Director at the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled "Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Prisons." Durbin began his questioning by asking about solitary confinement. Research has shown that solitary confinement has severe physical and mental health consequences and that the practice has little effect on maint… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Senate Passage of Continuing Resolution

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today released the following statement on Senate passage of the Continuing Resolution (CR), which will fund the federal government through December 16, 2022: "The CR that passed the Senate today is essential to keeping the government funded through December 16. I'm pleased it includes Democratic priorities, including roughly $12 billion toward Ukraine assistance, to help our Ukrainian fri… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Pritzker Announce More Than $21 Million for Illinois Highway Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) along with Governor JB Pritzker today announced $21,998,178 awarded to Illinois by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program (NEVI) for the installation of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations along the Illinois Interstate Highway System. "As Illinois becomes poised to play a nationally important role on electric vehicles, it… Continue Reading

Senate Confirms Arianna Freeman to Third Circuit

WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. Senate confirmed Arianna Freeman to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement regarding Freeman's confirmation: "Arianna Freeman is an accomplished appellate attorney who has dedicated her career to representing those seeking to vindicate their rights to due process, effective assistance of counsel, and other constitutional guarant… Continue Reading

Durbin, Padilla Introduce Legislation to Broaden Legal Pathway to Citizenship

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety, introduced legislation to expand a pathway to legal permanent resident (LPR) status for millions of long-term U.S. residents. The Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929 would update the existing Registry statute so that an immigrant may qualify for LP… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $15 Million in DOJ Awards to Support Illinois Violence Prevention

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced a total of $15,009,020 in Department of Justice (DOJ) awards for violence prevention efforts across Illinois communities. "This federal funding will give communities around Illinois additional resources to not only respond to violence, but help prevent these tragedies from happening in the first place," said Durbin. "Senator Duckworth and I will continue working to… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Bureau of Prisons Oversight

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled "Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Prisons." Key Quotes: "It is no overstatement to say that in recent years, the Bureau has been riddled with mismanagement and scandal. Under the Bureau's previous leadership, we witnessed a lackluster response to the COVID-19 pandemic, rampant misconduct by BOP offic… Continue Reading

Judiciary Committe Advances Two Circuit Court and Four District Court Nominees

WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced the nominations of Cindy K. Chung, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit; Tamika R. Montgomery-Reeves, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit; Kelley Brisbon Hodge, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; John Frank Murphy, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; Mia Roberts Perez, to be United States District Judge for the Easter… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $2.5 Million for Chicago Public Schools and Depaul University to Address Teacher Shortages

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Education has awarded a total of $2,504,602 to Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and DePaul University through the Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) program. This program uses innovative ways to recruit, prepare, and retain more educators, especially teachers of color. "We must do more to support our nation's educators to ensure students across Illinois have a… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets with New Director of FDA's Center for Tobacco Products

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) met with Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) Director Dr. Brian King, to discuss FDA's long-standing failure to use its authority to effectively and efficiently regulate the e-cigarette and synthetic nicotine marketplace, which has led to dramatic increases in youth use of tobacco products. During the meeting, Durbin expressed hope that Dr. King, just a few months into his tenure at FDA, would bring a ne… Continue Reading

Durbin, Trone Send Letter Urging Federal Bureau of Prisons to Reduce Solitary Confinement

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Congressman David Trone (D-MD) sent a letter to Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Director Colette Peters urging BOP facilities to reduce the frequency and length of solitary confinement. The letter comes just four months after President Biden issued an Executive Order stating that people in prison must be "free from prolonged segregation" and that isolation must be "used rarely, applied fa… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets with New President of Dominican University

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Dr. Glena Temple, the new President of Dominican University, which is based in River Forest, Illinois. During their meeting, Durbin and Dr. Temple discussed the affordability of higher education and Dominican's work in helping combat the nursing shortage. Durbin and Dr. Temple also touched on improving access to higher education for undocumented students. Dominican, a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), is one of the five … Continue Reading