Press Releases
Senate Confirms Justice Montgomery-Reeves To The Third Circuit Court Of Appeals
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after the Senate confirmed the nomination of Justice Tamika Montgomery-Reeves to serve on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals by a bipartisan vote of 53-35: "Justice Montgomery-Reeves has significant experience as both a litigator and a judge. In recognition of her exceptional legal acumen, the Committee has received many letters of support from her … Continue Reading
December 12, 2022
Durbin, Grassley, Feinstein, Padilla Press DOJ For More Information On Sexual Misconduct At BOP
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 Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Alex Padilla (D-CA), today sent a follow-up letter to Attorney General (AG) Merrick Garland and Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco seeking additional information about sexual misconduct by Bureau of Prisons (BOP) personnel and reiterating that the Department … Continue Reading
December 12, 2022
Durbin Urges Colleagues To Pass The Bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) urged his colleagues to pass the bipartisan James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23). The NDAA authorizes nearly $858 billion for the nation's defense and includes a 4.6 percent pay raise for our troops - the largest increase in 20 years, to help military families amid higher living costs. It also supports employment opportunities for military spouses, … Continue Reading
December 12, 2022
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