Press Releases
Durbin Speaks Out Against Gun Violence After Chicago Police Officer Dies In Line Of Duty, Gunman Attempts Attack At White House Correspondents’ Dinner
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today spoke on the Senate floor to denounce both political and gun violence in the wake of Chicago Police Officer John Bartholomew’s death while in the line of duty, as well as the attack at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Durbin began his remarks by honoring Officer Bartholomew, who lost his life after a suspect opened fire in a hospital following his arrest for armed … Continue Reading
April 27, 2026
Durbin, Duckworth Urge GSA To Uphold Duty To Properly Maintain Dirksen Courthouse & Roszkowski Courthouse
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) sent a letter to the General Service Administration (GSA) urging the Administration to address ongoing maintenance and infrastructure issues at the Everett McKinley Dirksen U.S. Courthouse and the Stanley J. Roszkowski U.S. Courthouse, both within the Northern District of Illinois (NDIL). The conditions at the Dirksen Courthouse in particular reflect longstanding deficiencies resulting from a … Continue Reading
April 27, 2026
Durbin Reintroduces Joint Resolution To Enshrine Americans’ Right To Vote In The Constitution
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, reintroduced a joint resolution that would finally enshrine an explicit, individual right to vote in the U.S. Constitution, and protect all Americans who seek to exercise this fundamental right. “In the words of the late John Lewis, the right to vote is ‘the most powerful nonviolent tool or instrument we have in a democratic society.’ When Congress passed the Voting Rights Act … Continue Reading
April 25, 2026
Durbin Statement On DOJ EOIR Board Of Immigration Appeals Decision On DACA
SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and author of the Dream Act, released the following statement regarding the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) decision in the Matter of Santiago-Santiago that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) will no longer necessarily protect DACA recipients from removal proceedings or deportation. Created … Continue Reading
April 24, 2026
Durbin Statement On DOJ Actions To Expand Use Of Federal Death Penalty, Reinstate Firing Squads And Flawed Lethal Injection Protocol
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced actions to expand the use of the federal death penalty, including readopting firing squads and flawed lethal injection protocol: “State-sanctioned killing is not justice. Today, DOJ is turning back the clock by strengthening the barbaric practice of the federal death penalty—a cruel, immoral, and … Continue Reading
April 24, 2026
Durbin, Duckworth Join Introduction Of Bill To Block Trump’s Executive Order Restricting Vote By Mail
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Gary Peters (D-MI) to introduce the Absentee and Mail Voter Protection Act (Absentee MVP Act), which would block President Trump’s illegal and unconstitutional executive order attacking mail and absentee ballots and protect the right to vote by mail. The Absentee MVP Act would nullify Trump’s … Continue Reading
April 23, 2026
Durbin Statement On Senate Republicans Approving $140 Billion To Fund ICE & Border Patrol
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement after Senate Republicans passed their budget resolution, which will allow them to provide up to $140 billion for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP): “In the middle of the night, Senate Republicans voted to give ICE—an agency that has carried out … Continue Reading
April 22, 2026
Durbin Discusses Economic Development, Infrastructure With Greater Springfield Chamber Of Commerce
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today meet with members of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce in his Washington office to discuss economic development and infrastructure investment in Central Illinois. During the meeting, Durbin and the local leaders spoke about the Springfield Rail Improvements Project, which Durbin has helped secure more than $247 million in federal funding to complete. Durbin also received an update about infrastructure projects the City … Continue Reading
April 22, 2026
Senate Judiciary Democrats Formally Request Independent Investigation Into Trump Attacks On Legal Immigration
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) led all Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats in formally requesting the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate the Trump Administration’s attacks on the legal immigration system. The Trump Administration has summarily halted most immigrant benefits processing for immigration applicants from 39 countries, … Continue Reading
April 22, 2026
Durbin Statement On Justice Department Charging Southern Poverty Law Center
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement after the Justice Department indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center, a prominent and historic civil rights organization that has long fought hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan, for so-called “financial crimes”: “Todd Blanche and Kash Patel are trying to turn back the clock to the infamous days of J. Edgar Hoover targeting Martin Luther King and other … Continue Reading
April 22, 2026
Durbin Questions Witnesses During Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing On China’s Theft Of U.S. Innovation
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned witnesses at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled “Stealth Stealing: China’s Ongoing Theft of U.S. Innovation.” Durbin first asked Helen Toner, Interim Executive Director for the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), about President Trump’s decision to sell American AI chips to China. “I would like to ask you about this Nvidia chip sale to … Continue Reading
April 22, 2026
Durbin Calls Out Republicans For Prioritizing Funding For Trump’s Mass Deportation Agenda Over The Affordability Crisis Hurting American Families
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, called out Republicans for prolonging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown instead of addressing the affordability crisis that is hurting American families. Durbin began by noting that during the first year of his second term, President Trump added $1.4 billion to his personal … Continue Reading
April 22, 2026
Durbin, Duckworth Join Letter Demanding USPS Uphold Federal Law Over President Trump’s Illegal Executive Order To Restrict Mail-In Voting
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Gary Peters (D-MI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and 32 of their Democratic colleagues in demanding the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) uphold existing federal law over the executive order signed by President Trump. The executive order, which has been challenged in the courts, would direct USPS to create and maintain “Mail-in Absentee Participations Lists” that … Continue Reading
April 22, 2026
Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing On China’s Theft Of U.S. Innovation
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled “Stealth Stealing: China’s Ongoing Theft of U.S. Innovation.” During his opening, Durbin condemned the Trump Administration for taking actions that harm our innovation ecosystem. President Trump has attempted to cancel grants, fire scientists, and freeze billions of dollars of National Institutes of … Continue Reading
April 21, 2026
Durbin, Grassley Celebrate Senate Passage Of Bill Securing Nationwide Background Checks For Child Care Workers
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, celebrated passage of their bipartisan Comprehensive Health and Integrity in Licensing and Documentation (CHILD) Act to ensure all individuals with unsupervised access to children—including contractors hired by schools—are authorized to receive a nationwide background check. “Kids in schools should be … Continue Reading
April 21, 2026
Durbin Discusses Republicans’ Cuts To Medicaid, Health Care Workforce Shortages With Illinois Health & Hospital Association
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Illinois hospitals leaders from the Illinois Health & Hospital Association (IHA) to discuss the harms of the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cut $1 trillion from Medicaid spending to provide tax breaks for billionaires. Illinois alone is projected to face a cut of $48 billion in Medicaid funding, forcing Illinois hospitals to potentially face workforce losses, reductions in mental health and obstetrics … Continue Reading
April 21, 2026
In Appropriations Hearing, Durbin Calls Out Secretary Kennedy For FDA’s Failure To Crack Down On Illegal E-Cigarettes, Vape Products
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today questioned Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies’ hearing about the President’s Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) budget request for HHS. During the hearing, Durbin called on Secretary Kennedy to crack down on illegal e-cigarette products, especially … Continue Reading
April 21, 2026
Durbin Details Horrific Conditions In Immigration Detention Under Trump Administration
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke out against the dramatic increase in deaths and horrific conditions in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention, including family detention, during the second Trump Administration. Earlier this month, the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Medical Association published a 22-year study of deaths in ICE custody. It found that the … Continue Reading
April 21, 2026
Durbin Questions Election Denier & Conspiracy Theorist, Jeffrey Clark, During Latest Arctic Frost Hearing
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned Jeffrey Clark at a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing entitled “Arctic Frost: Conspiracy and Coordination Against President Trump and the American Right.” Mr. Clark is an environmental lawyer who was the Acting Assistant Attorney General for DOJ’s Civil Division at the end of 2020 and played a key role in President Trump’s failed efforts to overturn the 2020 … Continue Reading
April 21, 2026
Durbin Delivers Opening Statement Slamming Senate Republicans For Holding Yet Another Wasteful Hearing On Arctic Frost
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement at a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing entitled “Arctic Frost: Conspiracy and Coordination Against President Trump and the American Right.” Instead of allowing Special Prosecutor Jack Smith to testify, the subcommittee heard from Jeffrey Clark, an environmental lawyer who was the Acting Assistant Attorney General for DOJ’s Civil Division at the … Continue Reading