Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Justice and Civil Rights
Senate Confirms Nominations of Martha Pacold & Mary Rowland To Serve As U.S. District Judges For The Northern District Of Illinois
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement after the Senate confirmed the nominations of Martha M. Pacold and Mary M. Rowland to serve as District Judges on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, based in Chicago: "We are pleased that the Senate has confirmed Martha Pacold and Mary Rowland. They have the qualifications, integrity, and judgment to serve with distinction as district court judges in the … Continue Reading
July 23, 2019
Senate Passes Resolution Honoring Justice John Paul Stevens
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate today unanimously passed a resolution honoring the life of Justice John Paul Stevens, who passed away last week at the age of 99. The resolution was introduced by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). Justice Stevens served on the Supreme Court for nearly 35 years. "Justice Stevens was committed to safeguarding the rights and liberties protected by the Constitution, and he cherished the importance of the judiciary as an impartial guardian … Continue Reading
July 23, 2019
Durbin Presses FBI Director Wray On Effort To Combat White Supremacist Violence
WASHINGTON-In today's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with FBI Director Christopher Wray, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) pressed Director Wray on the Trump Administration's shifting approach to tracking domestic terrorism incidents, which has obfuscated the white supremacist threat. An unclassified May 2017 FBI-DHS joint intelligence bulletin found that "white supremacist extremism poses [a] persistent threat of lethal violence," and that white supremacists were responsible … Continue Reading
July 17, 2019
Durbin Honors Justice John Paul Stevens On Senate Floor
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 honored the life of Justice John Paul Stevens who passed away yesterday at the age of 99. Justice Stevens served on the Supreme Court for nearly 35 years. "He leaves behind an enormous legacy. He was committed to safeguarding the rights and liberties protected by the Constitution, and he cherished the importance of the judiciary as an impartial … Continue Reading
June 26, 2019
Durbin Meets With Illinois Department Of Corrections To Discuss Prison Reform
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Rob Jeffreys, Director of the Illinois Department of Corrections, and John Wetzel, President of the Association of State Correctional Administrators (ASCA), to discuss the Trump Administration's implementation of the recently-enacted Grassley-Durbin First Step Act, the overuse of solitary confinement, and the need for further criminal justice reform efforts at the state and federal levels. In today's meeting, Durbin also received an … Continue Reading
June 20, 2019
Durbin, Duckworth Reintroduce Bill To Provide Equal Tax Treatment For Married Same-Sex Couples
WASHINGTON - During LGBTQ Pride Month, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), today reintroduced the Refund Equality Act. This legislation would ensure that legally-married same-sex couples - who until the U.S. Supreme Court's 2013 U.S. v. Windsor decision were barred from filing federal taxes jointly - are permitted to file amended tax returns back to the date of their marriage. The House Ways and Means Committee will … Continue Reading
June 20, 2019
Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Nomination Of Martha Pacold, Mary Rowland, & Steven Seeger To Serve As U.S. District Judges For The Northern District of Illinois
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance the nominations of Martha M. Pacold, Mary M. Rowland, and Steven C. Seeger to serve as District Judges on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, based in Chicago: "We are pleased that the Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced these three Illinoisans. They have the qualifications, integrity, and judgment to … Continue Reading
June 18, 2019
Durbin Meets With Acting Director Of Bureau Of Prisons To Discuss Prison Reform
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Acting Director Hugh Hurwitz to discuss the Trump Administration's implementation of the recently-enacted Grassley-Durbin First Step Act, inadequate staffing, and the overuse of solitary confinement. Durbin also received an update on the activation of the Federal penitentiary in Thomson, Illinois. "The goal of our criminal justice system should be to … Continue Reading
June 18, 2019
Durbin Opposes Anti-LGBTQ Trump Nominee, Matthew Kacsmaryk
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that he will oppose President Donald Trump's Texas district court nominee Matthew Kacsmaryk, who has repeatedly written in his personal capacity about his opposition to LGBTQ rights and the Obergefell case. Durbin also called out Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for spending another week rubber-stamping President Trump's extreme nominees and creating a legislative … Continue Reading
June 12, 2019
Durbin, Duckworth Statement On Nomination Of John Kness To Serve As U.S. District Judge For The Northern District Of Illinois
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement after the White House announced the nomination of John Kness to serve as District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, based in Chicago. The Kness nomination accompanies the previous nominations of Mary Rowland, Martha Pacold, and Steven Seeger to serve on the Northern District of Illinois bench: "We are pleased that the President nominated Mr. Kness as … Continue Reading
May 22, 2019
Durbin, Duckworth, Kelly Introduce Resolution Establishing "National Gun Violence Awareness Month"
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02) introduced a resolution in the House and Senate establishing the weekend of June 7-9, 2019, as "National Gun Violence Awareness Weekend" and designating June as "National Gun Violence Awareness Month." Every day in America, an average of around 300 men, women, and children are shot, nearly one-third of them fatally. Establishing a month to bring attention to the issue of gun … Continue Reading
May 16, 2019
Durbin Opposes President Trump's Deputy AG Nominee, Jeffrey Rosen
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after voting against President Donald Trump's nominee to be Deputy U.S. Attorney General, Jeffrey Rosen: "At this critical moment, we need a Deputy Attorney General who knows the Justice Department, who has experience in criminal investigations and prosecutions, and who is committed to the Department's role of enforcing the law independently. Mr. Rosen has no experience working in the Justice … Continue Reading
May 09, 2019
Senate Judiciary Committee Passes Durbin-Cosponsored Legislation That Supports Local Law Enforcement
WASHINGTON - At today's Senate Judiciary Committee markup, the Committee voted unanimously in support of two bills cosponsored by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) that support local law enforcement - the Supporting and Treating Officers in Crisis (STOIC) Act of 2019 and the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program Reauthorization. The STOIC Act addresses the growing problem of law enforcement officer suicides by reauthorizing a grant program for law enforcement family support services and … Continue Reading
May 09, 2019
Durbin Opposes Jeffrey Rosen, President Trump's Deputy AG Nominee
WASHINGTON - In today's Senate Judiciary Committee markup, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) voted against President Donald Trump's nominee to be Deputy U.S. Attorney General, Jeffrey Rosen. Durbin argued that Mr. Rosen does not have the qualifications to be Deputy Attorney General given his lack of experience in the Department of Justice (DOJ) and lack of understanding of its basic law enforcement components. "I sat down with Mr. Rosen - a blank slate, I knew nothing about … Continue Reading
May 02, 2019
Durbin, Booker, Senators Call Out Trump Admin For Inadequate Effort To Combat White Supremacist Violence
WASHINGTON-Following last week's deadly shooting at Chabad of Poway synagogue, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chris Coons (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Kamala Harris (D-CA) today called out the Trump Administration for shifting its approach to tracking domestic terrorism incidents to obfuscate the white supremacist threat. In a letter to Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray, the … Continue Reading
May 02, 2019
Durbin Votes To Override President Trump's Veto Of The Bipartisan Resolution To Halt Unauthorized U.S. Military Involvement In Yemen
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today voted to override President Donald Trump's veto of the bipartisan joint war powers resolution to end unauthorized U.S. military involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen. In March, the resolution passed the Senate by a vote of 54-46, and on April 4, it passed the House by a vote of 247-175, but today it did not garner enough votes in the Senate to override the President's veto. "Not only was this war never authorized as required … Continue Reading
May 02, 2019
Durbin Presses Senate Judiciary Committee To Bring In Mueller And McGahn To Testify On The Mueller Report
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today pressed the Senate Judiciary Committee to call Special Counsel Robert Mueller and Don McGahn, President Trump's former White House Counsel, to testify about Mueller's report on Russia's interference in the 2016 election. "Time and again it appears that the Senate Judiciary Committee, which used to be the leader on Capitol Hill on these issues, is stepping back and out of the picture … Continue Reading
May 01, 2019
Durbin, Capito Urge HHS To Implement Childhood Trauma Force
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) today urged the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to accelerate implementation of the Interagency Task Force on Trauma-Informed Care, a provision authored by both Senators that was passed into law last October as part of the federal opioid response. The bipartisan provision established a Task Force of federal agencies to set a national strategy to address childhood trauma and to promote trauma-informed … Continue Reading
May 01, 2019
Durbin Questions AG Barr On His Handling Of The Mueller Report
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned U.S. Attorney General William Barr on his handling of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election. "I find, Attorney General Barr, that some of the things you've engaged in really leave me wondering what you believe your role is as Attorney General," Durbin said. "I would hope that we can get to the bottom of this … Continue Reading
April 24, 2019
Durbin, Grassley, Booker, Lee Oppose Proposed Hiring Requirement That Undermines Criminal Justice Reform
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Mike Lee (R-UT), the lead sponsors of the recently-enacted First Step Act, today voiced bipartisan opposition to the Trump Administration's proposal to require applicants for federal jobs and contracting work to divulge their participation in criminal diversion programs. Diversion programs directly address the unjust and illogical consequences of a criminal conviction. These programs help … Continue Reading