Durbin, Duckworth Introduce Bill To Make Community And Technical School More Affordable

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today joined Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) to introduce America's College Promise Act. This legislation would create a new federal-state partnership to provide two years of tuition-free access to community or technical college programs that lead to a degree or industry-recognized credential. "Community colleges provide a springboard for students who wish to continue their education and a foundation for students to find goo… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Stoneman Douglas Students, Calls on Congress To Toughen Gun Laws

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today spoke on the Senate floor to discuss the urgent need for Congress to pass legislation to curb gun violence. Durbin earlier met with survivors of the mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. "These students and young people across the country are changing the debate about gun violence," said Durbin. "They are making clear how absurd it is for lawmakers to do nothing when Americans are getting shot every day in their… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Supreme Court Decision On White House DACA Case

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request by the Trump Administration for expedited consideration of its challenge to an injunction blocking the Administration's termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program: President Trump created this crisis six months ago, and his administration continues to use every available legal option to prevent Dreamers from keeping their DACA … Continue Reading

Durbin Presses President Trump To Demand Syria and Russia End Horrific Bombing of Eastern Ghouta

CHICAGO - As Syrian government warplanes supported by Russia have relentlessly bombarded the Damascus suburb of eastern Ghouta for six days, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today urged President Trump to demand that Russia end this senseless bombing of innocent civilians and allow medical and humanitarian relief to reach the area's victims. Durbin also stressed that any such discussion with President Putin must also address deeply troubling, and seemingly ignored, reports that Russian mercenari… Continue Reading

Durbin Warns FCC Of Sinclair's Dubious Divestment Plan For Tribune Mega-Merger

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today warned Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai about the amended proposal filed yesterday by Sinclair Broadcast Group for its proposed $3.9 billion merger with Tribune Media Company. In their amended proposal, Sinclair disclosed its plan to divest from Tribune's WGN-TV Chicago, WPIX-TV New York, and KSWB-TV San Diego stations in order for the merger to comply with the FCC's 39 percent national media ownership cap. However, despi… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On California State Approving Agency Denying Ashford University's Application For Approval

CHICAGO-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after the California State Approving Agency for Veterans Education (CSAAVE) denied Ashford University's application to be approved in the state of California - a requirement for maintaining its eligibility to receive GI Bill benefits nationally: "Ashford University has a long history of exploiting the men and women who have served our country in uniform in order to pocket millions in federal GI Bill education benefit… Continue Reading

Durbin: Congress Must Stand Up to Gun Sales Lobby & Act to Prevent the Next Mass Shooting

CHICAGO - In the wake of the tragic mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined local gun safety advocates to call on Congress to act on common sense gun reforms and stop turning a blind eye to the deadly toll of gun violence in our schools and neighborhoods. The only vote the U.S. Senate has held this Congress on guns has been to overturn a regulation to keep guns out of the hands of individuals with mental illness. … Continue Reading

Durbin, Rock Island Leaders Discuss Initiatives to Combat Opioid Epidemic

ROCK ISLAND - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Rock Island County Sheriff Gerry Bustos and other local leaders for a briefing about Rock Island County's new program designed to help people addicted to opioids get the treatment they need without facing arrest or prosecution. The Safe Passage Program began in January and the first person to use it is now going through treatment. "Every day, more than 100 Americans die from an opioid overdose. Tackling this crisis requires a coord… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Press IDPH For Additional Information On The Latest Three Cases Of Legionnaires' At IVH Quincy

CHICAGO - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today urged the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) to once again take every available precaution and pursue every available option in order to prevent and mitigate further outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease at the Illinois Veterans' Home (IVH) Quincy. Durbin and Duckworth also pressed IDPH to uphold a commitment to transparency so that residents, families, and staff at IVH Quincy, as well as the public, can have the… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls On EPA To Update Dangerous Lead Hazard Standards

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) have sent a letter urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revise its lead-based paint and dust-lead hazard standards without delay. The letter is in response to a December 2017 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Court requiring the agency to update its current standards within 90 days. "It is widely known and accepted that lead hazards present an urgent health and safety threat to c… Continue Reading

Durbin, Dem Senators Press Interior Secretary To Postpone Development Of Management Plans For Bears Ears & Grand Staircase Escalante National Monuments

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today led 12 Democratic senators in pressing the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to postpone the development of management plans for the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument areas in Utah until legal challenges regarding the President's authority to reduce the size of the monuments have been resolved. The Senators also requested that the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument management plan remain in effect for all lands wit… Continue Reading

Given Failure By Rauner Administration, Durbin, Duckworth Urge CDC To Take Greater Leadership Role In Mitigating Legionnaires' Disease At IVH Quincy

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today pressed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to take a greater leadership role in helping to address the public health crisis at Illinois Veterans' Home (IVH) Quincy. Since 2015, more than 60 people have contracted Legionnaires' disease at IVH Quincy and 13 people have died as a result. Just this week, three more laboratory-confirmed cases of Legionnaires' disease were confirmed among IVH residents. … Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Senate's Failure To Pass Bipartisan Protection For Dreamers

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after the Senate failed to advance bipartisan legislation to protect young immigrants known as Dreamers: When the President ended DACA five months ago, he set in motion a crisis jeopardizing the lives of hundreds of thousands of young people and their families. He then demanded his entire anti-immigrant wish-list as ransom to restore these young people's protections. Democrats made enormous concessions in… Continue Reading

Judiciary Committee Advances Sentencing Reform And Corrections Act

WASHINGTON-The Senate Judiciary Committee has voted 16-5 to advance comprehensive legislation aimed at reducing mandatory minimums for certain non-violent offenders to help law enforcement devote their resources to targeting drug kingpins, manufacturers and violent criminals. Under this bill, judges would be better able to take individual circumstances into account at sentencing so that they can make sure that the appropriate punishment fits the crime. But it also preserves mandatory minimum sen… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With VA Secretary, Offers VA Expert Assistance To Help Mitigate Legionnaires' From Illinois Veterans' Home Quincy

WASHINGTON - One day after two new cases of Legionnaires' disease were confirmed at the Illinois Veterans' Home (IVH) Quincy, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary David Shulkin to discuss the ongoing legionellosis outbreaks at IVH Quincy. Secretary Shulkin offered VA expert assistance - those who have a history of addressing Legionnaires' outbreaks across the country - to help mitigate legionellosis outbreaks at IVH Quincy. Durbin al… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Statement On new Legionnaires' Disease Cases Confirmed At illinois Veterans' Home Quincy

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released the following statement after two new cases of Legionnaires' disease were confirmed at the Illinois Veterans' Home (IVH) Quincy: "Last month, the Governor stated that his goal was 'zero instances of Legionella infection' at IVH Quincy. However in the month that has passed, we have seen nothing from the Governor's office - no final plan of action, no formal funding request, just more publicity stunts and pro… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Members Of Illinois Congressional Delegation Urge Army Corps To Include Funding For McCook

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Representatives Mike Quigley (D-IL-05), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09), Dan Lipinski (D-IL-03), Peter Roskam (R-IL-06), Danny Davis (D-IL-07), Bill Foster (D-IL-11), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08), and Bobby Rush (D-IL-01) today requested $34.7 million in construction funds for the McCook Reservoir Project be included in the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Work Plan. They also requested that the Cor… Continue Reading

Durbin: President Trump Created A Dreamer Crisis, Now Congress Must Act

WASHINGTON-Five months since the Trump Administration terminated the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and called for Congress to come up with a legislative solution, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on his Senate colleagues to come together and pass the bipartisan Dream Act. This week on the Senate floor, the Senate began debating immigration for the first time in five years. "We are in the midst of a debate on the floor in the United States Sena… Continue Reading

Durbin: It's Time For The Senate To Do It's Job And Pass The Bipartisan Dream Act

WASHINGTON-Five months since the Trump Administration terminated the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and called for Congress to come up with a legislative solution, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on his Senate colleagues to come together and pass the bipartisan Dream Act. This week on the Senate floor, the Senate will debate immigration for the first time in five years. "After a lot of negotiating back and forth, Senator McConnell agreed that t… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On President Trump's Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Request

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today released the following statement after President Donald Trump submitted his fiscal year 2019 budget request to Congress: "We knew this was coming. After blowing a massive hole in the budget with a colossal corporate tax giveaway, President Trump now wants seniors and working families to pay for it with huge cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. The wealthy get a massive tax cut and our e… Continue Reading