Press Releases
Senators Unveil Revised Bipartisan Prison, Sentencing Legislation
WASHINGTON - Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Senators Mike Lee (R-UT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today introduced revised legislation to reduce recidivism, promote public safety, and improve fairness in sentencing of federal crimes. The revised First Step Act, S.3649, has been endorsed by President Donald Trump. "This compromise represents years of work by a bipartisan coali… Continue Reading
11.15.18
Durbin, Duckworth Renew Call For Illinois Public Health Director Shah To Resign Over Botched Response To Legionnaires' Outbreak At IVH Quincy
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today reiterated their call for Illinois Public Health Director Nirav Shah to resign given reports that the Rauner Administration and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) botched a water-system repair at Illinois Veterans Home (IVH) Quincy, which was in violation of state health codes, and then chose to deliberately withhold that information from the public and not cite the facility for a mistake. In documents r… Continue Reading
11.15.18
Durbin Urges Senate Colleagues To Support Bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform Legislation
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today encouraged his Senate colleagues to support the revised First Step Act, bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation. The legislation includes key sentencing reforms from the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act - a bill authored by Durbin and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), which passed the Senate Judiciary Committee in Fe… Continue Reading
11.15.18
Durbin, Murkowski Statement On New FDA E-Cigarette Regulations
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) today released the following statement after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced new regulations on e-cigarette flavorings and flavored cigars: E-cigarette use among children and teenagers is an epidemic, just ask our federal health agencies or any school teacher in America. The FDA is finally moving in the right direction by cracking down on the sale of kid-friendly flavors in e-cigarettes and cigars, an… Continue Reading
11.15.18
Durbin, Duckworth, Foster, Schneider Meet With Acting EPA Administrator, Call For Action On Cancer-Causing Pollution In Lake And DuPage Counties
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Representatives Bill Foster (D-IL-11) and Brad Schneider (D-IL-10), today met with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler to discuss cancer risks caused by ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions at Sterigenics Inc. in DuPage County, Illinois and Medline Industries, Inc., and Vantage Specialty Chemicals, Inc., in Lake County, Illinois. The members urged Acting Administrator … Continue Reading
11.14.18
Durbin Applauds Senate Passage Of Bill To Improve Oil Spill Response In Great Lakes
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today applauded passage of a bill that directs the Coast Guard to establish a Center of Expertise for Great Lakes Oil Spill Research and Response, which will monitor, assess, and train first responders on freshwater oil spill response in the Great Lakes. The provision was included in the Coast Guard Reauthorization bill, which passed the Senate today. "Protecting the Great Lakes is critically important to Illinois' future, and this bill will help ens… Continue Reading
11.14.18
Durbin, Grassely Statement On President Trump's Endorsement Of Comprehensive Criminal Justice Reform
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the lead cosponsors of the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act, today made the following statement regarding President Donald Trump's endorsement of a bipartisan proposal to lower crime rates, prepare inmates to successfully reenter society, promote community safety, and increase fairness in sentencing: President Trump's endorsement of the bipartisan criminal justice refo… Continue Reading
11.14.18
Durbin Meets With Illinois Representatives-Elect
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Jesus "Chuy" Garcia and Sean Casten, U.S. Representatives-elect from Illinois, to congratulate them and discuss their goals for the 116th Congress. "It's an honor to welcome these newly-elected Representatives to Washington and congratulate them on their victories. They each bring a unique perspective and new energy to our efforts to address the issues facing Illinoisans and our nation, and I look forward to working with them in the ne… Continue Reading
11.14.18
Durbin Re-Elected Senate Democratic Whip For 116th Congress
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator 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 116th Congress by his Senate Democratic colleagues this morning. Durbin has served in the number two role in the caucus since 2005. I am honored that the Senate Democratic Caucus has again supported me to serve as Whip. Our party is more diverse than ever, our Congress is divided, and the challenges… Continue Reading
11.09.18
Durbin, Duckworth, Schneider Call On Trump Adminstration To Improve Its Monitoring Of Cancer-Causing Pollution In Lake County
CHICAGO - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Brad Schneider (D-IL-10) today, in a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), requested it perform updated and current air sampling and modeling studies to determine the cancer risks in Lake County, Illinois, caused by ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions at Medline Industries, Inc. and Vantage Specialty Chemicals, Inc. The EPA has not conducted air emissions quality tests for these two facil… Continue Reading
11.07.18
Durbin Statement On Attorney General Sessions Resignation
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced his resignation at President Donald Trump's request: Attorney General Sessions' forced resignation is a transparent effort to clear the way for President Trump to limit or stop the Mueller investigation. Acting Attorney General Whitaker has made his intentions clear to do the President's bidding and stop Mueller. This move could lead our nation in… Continue Reading
11.07.18
Durbin Calls For Investigation Into Trump Administration's Delay Of Notifying Lake County Residents About Cancer-Causing Pollution
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today, in a letter to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), called for an investigation into whether EPA followed proper protocols when critical health information about cancer-causing ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions at Medline Industries, Inc. and Vantage Specialty Chemicals, Inc. was withheld from Lake County, Illinois residents. Last week, the Chicago Tribune published a story that details how the… Continue Reading
11.05.18
Durbin, Duckworth Call On Illinois Public Health Director Nirav Shah To Resign Over Botched Response To Legionnaries' Outbreaks At IVH Quincy
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today called for Illinois Public Health Director Nirav Shah to resign following reports that the Rauner Administration botched a water-system repair at Illinois Veterans Home (IVH) Quincy, which was in violation of state health codes, and then chose to deliberately withhold that information from the public and not cite the facility for a mistake. In newly released documents, Shah detailed the dangers present at the facilit… Continue Reading
11.02.18
Durbin Statement On One-Week Anniversary Of The Worst Ant-Semitic Attack In U.S. History
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement ahead of the one-week anniversary of the shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue claimed 11 lives: "The tragic shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh revealed in heartbreaking detail the hate and latent violence that lives in the hearts of too many in this land. As I reached out to many of my Jewish friends I learned the stunning personal impact of this tragedy. Many characterize it as the worst incident o… Continue Reading
11.02.18
Durbin Statement On Rauner & Trump Administrations' Delay Of Notifying Lake County Residents About Cancer-Causing Pollution
CHAMPAIGN - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after the Chicago Tribune published a story that details how two facilities in Lake County, Illinois - Medline Industries, Inc. in Waukegan and Vantage Specialty Chemicals, Inc. in Gurnee - appear to emit cancer-causing emissions, yet the Rauner Administration, along with the Trump Administration, have delayed giving this pertinent information to Lake County residents: This is simply outrageous. Day after day, t… Continue Reading
11.01.18
Durbin, Duckworth, foster Request EPA Investigation Into Rauner And Trump Administrations' Delay Of Notifying Public About Sterigenics Cancer Risk
CHICAGO - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Bill Foster (D-IL-11) today requested the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) investigate if EPA complied with all statutory, regulatory, and policy requirements and protocols when it intentionally withheld critical health information from the public about carcinogenic air pollution from the Sterigenics facility in DuPage County, Illinois. Their reque… Continue Reading
10.28.18
Durbin Statement On Shooting At Pittsburgh Synagogue
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after a mass shooting at the Tree of Life Congregation Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: My heart breaks for Pittsburgh today and the Jewish community that worships at Tree of Life Congregation Synagogue. I'm praying for the families who have lost loved ones, and for those injured in this senseless tragedy including several police officers. We are grateful once again to law enforcement and fir… Continue Reading
10.26.18
Durbin Statement On Rauner And Trump Administrations' Delay On Notifying Public About Sterigenics Risk
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after the Chicago Tribune published a story that details how Governor Bruce Rauner's Administration, along with the Trump Administration, chose to not inform the public of serious cancer risks associated with emissions from the Sterigenics plant in Willowbrook, Illinois, for at least eight months after it learned of the risks: This is a downright disgrace. Once again, the Rauner and Trump Administrations prioritize… Continue Reading
10.25.18
Durbin Highlights Key Provisions Included In Major Opioid Legislation Signed Into Law
CHICAGO - Following President Trump's signing of a major legislative package to confront the opioid epidemic, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sat down with advocates and health professionals to discuss key provisions in the bill and what more needs to be done. The legislation, named the SUPPORT for Patients and Families Act, includes several Durbin provisions to help address both causes and effects of the nation's worst-ever drug overdose epidemic. "Our nation is in the midst of the wors… Continue Reading
10.23.18
Durbin, Leahy, Feinstein, Sanders Call On President Trump To Condemn Murder Of Jamal Khashoggi, Begin Restoring America's Moral Standing Internationally
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senate Appropriations Committee's Defense Subcommittee Ranking Member; Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman; Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member; and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member today pressed President Donald Trump to begin restoring America's moral standing by forcefully, without equivocation, condemning Jamal Khashoggi's murder and indicating there will… Continue Reading