Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Justice and Civil Rights
Durbin: The Affordable Care Act Is At Stake With This Supreme Court Vacancy
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today warned that the future of the Affordable Care Act is at stake with the Supreme Court vacancy following the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin noted that President Donald Trump has made clear that he wants to strike down the entire Affordable Care Act. That is the position the Trump Administration has taken before the Supreme Court in a … Continue Reading
September 22, 2020
House Passes Durbin, Sullivan Due Process Protections Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) applauded the House's unanimous passage of S. 1380, the Due Process Protections Act, legislation they introduced earlier this Congress to reinforce the constitutional right of defendants to access favorable and potentially exculpatory evidence obtained by prosecutors. The bill passed the Senate on May 22. "The Due Process Clause is enshrined in our Constitution as a check against government overreach, but there are … Continue Reading
September 21, 2020
Durbin Honors Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg On Senate Floor
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today honored the life and legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Senate floor. "Ruth Bader Ginsburg did not simply take opportunities afforded to women. More than perhaps any American in history, she helped to create those opportunities," Durbin said. "Loretta and I offer our deepest condolences to her friends and family, especially her daughter Jane, her son James, her … Continue Reading
September 21, 2020
House Passes Durbin-Schneider Bill To Combat Domestic Terrorism
WASHINGTON - On a unanimous vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5602, the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2020, a bipartisan bill introduced by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Brad Schneider (D-IL-10). The bill would enhance the federal government's efforts to prevent domestic terrorism by requiring federal law enforcement agencies to regularly assess this threat, focus their resources on the most significant domestic terrorism threats, and provide … Continue Reading
September 18, 2020
Durbin Statement On The Passing Of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: "The Supreme Court's most valiant champion for justice in our lifetime is gone. Justice Ginsburg was an American hero. "Please remember Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's demand that Supreme Court vacancies go unfilled during a presidential election year, which was also Justice Ginsburg's dying wish. Senator McConnell pleaded with … Continue Reading
September 18, 2020
Durbin, Duckworth Announce Nearly $16 Million In VAWA Funding For Illinois
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced a total of $15.9 million in federal grant funding from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to help Illinois agencies and community groups provide critical support and protections for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. Today's funding comes from various DOJ programs authorized by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) to prevent, combat, and investigate sexual assault and violence against … Continue Reading
September 10, 2020
Durbin To McConnell: We Need To Do More To Help Struggling Americans
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today spoke about the importance of helping unemployed and uninsured Americans, hospitals and health clinics, state and local governments, and small businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and slammed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's partisan COVID-19 relief proposal that doesn't provide adequate help to Americans in need. Durbin criticized the inclusion of a provision granting corporations federal liability immunity from … Continue Reading
September 09, 2020
Durbin, Lee, Coons Introduce Bipartisan Smarter Pretrial Detention For Drug Charges Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Chris Coons (D-DE), members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today introduced the bipartisan Smarter Pretrial Detention for Drug Charges Act of 2020, a targeted bill that would eliminate the blanket presumption of pretrial detention for most federal drug charges. Pretrial detention rates in the federal system are at record high levels and on an upward trend across all demographic groups. This legislation would permit … Continue Reading
September 01, 2020
Durbin Joins Illinois Appellate Lawyers Association To Discuss The Importance Of Legal Aid Services During COVID-19 Pandemic
SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined the Illinois Appellate Lawyers Association, the Federal Bar Association's Chicago chapter, and the Chicago Inn of Court for a virtual conversation about current legal topics including the importance of pro bono and legal aid services, civil rights, policing reform, and voting rights. "Today, we find ourselves in the midst of a season of uncertainty in America as we confront a pandemic and its accompanying recession, a reckoning with … Continue Reading
August 07, 2020
Durbin Joins Warren, Murray, Booker To Introduce The COVID-19 In Corrections Data Transparency Act
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Cory Booker (D-NJ), along with Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX-29), Yvette Clarke (D-NY-09), and Robin Kelly (D-IL-02) to introduce the COVID-19 in Corrections Data Transparency Act, legislation that would require the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), the United States Marshals Service (USMS), and state governments to collect and publicly report detailed … Continue Reading
August 06, 2020
Durbin, Colleagues Introduce Resolution Celebrating 55th Anniversary Of Voting Rights Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) and 22 Senators today to introduce a Senate Resolution to recognize, commemorate, and celebrate the 55th anniversary of the enactment of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. President Lyndon B. Johnson proposed the legislation just days after the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, during which the late Representative John Lewis was beaten by law enforcement officers while crossing the Edmund … Continue Reading
August 05, 2020
Durbin, Duckworth Introduce Bill To Create National Heritage Area In Chicago's Bronzeville Community
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today introduced a bill that would create a National Park Service (NPS) National Heritage Area in the greater Bronzeville community of Chicago. The Bronzeville-Black Metropolis National Heritage Area Act would create a National Heritage Area from 18th Street to the North, 71st Street to the South, Lake Michigan to the East, and Canal Street to the West-approximately five miles south of downtown. This area would tell the … Continue Reading
August 05, 2020
Durbin Introduces Joint Resolution To Enshrine Right To Vote In U.S. Constitution
WASHINGTON - Ahead of the 55th anniversary of the enactment of the Voting Rights Act, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate Rules Committee, introduced 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. Specifically, Durbin's amendment would: Provide an affirmative right to vote for every American … Continue Reading
August 04, 2020
Durbin: Instead Of Focusing On Real Threat Posed By White Supremacist Violence, Trump Admin Continues To Try To Vilify Protestors
WASHINGTON - Following the one year anniversary of the racist and anti-immigrant attack at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, by a white supremacist, who killed 23 people and wounded another 23, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today pressed Ken Cuccinelli, the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), and Erin Nealy Cox, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas and … Continue Reading
July 29, 2020
Durbin: We Must End Systemic Racial Injustice
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) called on his colleagues to pass a series of bills aimed to reduce systemic racism in America. Durbin cited how the long-overdue national reckoning on race is helping many see more clearly how old, discredited ideas about race that most have rejected as individuals linger on in some of our institutions and laws. Durbin called on his Republican colleagues to honor the life's work of civil rights icons … Continue Reading
July 24, 2020
Durbin, Duckworth, Illinois Delegation Discuss COVID-19 With Chicago Mayor Lightfoot
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with several members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation, spoke with Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot about Chicago's ongoing COVID-19 pandemic response and how they can continue to assist her efforts to protect Illinoisans as the state re-opens. The group discussed how federal support can provide Illinois families and businesses with relief from the health and economic consequences of the pandemic, and what … Continue Reading
July 23, 2020
Durbin To DOJ: We Will Not Allow What Happened In Portland To Happen In Chicago
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) on the Senate floor to discuss the events unfolding in Portland, Oregon, in which heavily armed, unmarked federal forces in unmarked vehicles were filmed grabbing protesters off the street. Durbin also discussed the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) announcement of an expansion of Operation Legend to Chicago, Illinois, and committed to hold DOJ accountable to the stated goal of the operation, … Continue Reading
July 22, 2020
Durbin, Duckworth Join Senate Colleagues To Introduce John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and 45 of their Senate colleagues in introducing the bipartisan John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, a bill to restore the landmark Voting Rights Act, end the scourge of minority voter suppression, and help preserve the legacy of John Lewis - one of America's greatest civil rights heroes. In 2013, the Supreme Court's Shelby County v. Holder decision gutted critical voter … Continue Reading
July 22, 2020
Durbin, Duckworth Statement On Expansion Of DOJ Operation Legend To Chicago
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released the following statement regarding the Department of Justice (DOJ) announcing an expansion of Operation Legend to Chicago, Illinois. Operation Legend is DOJ's violent crime reduction initiative with the stated goal to provide support and assistance to state and local law enforcement partners as they work to combat violent crime, and gun violence in particular. Durbin and Duckworth are set to speak with … Continue Reading
July 21, 2020
Durbin, Duckworth Call Out President Trump On Reports Of Plan To Send Secret police TO Chicago
WASHINGTON - Following reports that President Donald Trump wants to send federal agents into cities, including Chicago, to conduct policing activities that are traditionally handled by local law enforcement, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today sent a letter to President Trump calling on him to refrain from taking this action, which is opposed by Governor Pritzker, Mayor Lightfoot, and other local leaders. "With the right leadership, federal law enforcement can … Continue Reading