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 St… Continue Reading

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 o… Continue Reading

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 offi… Continue Reading

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 o… Continue Reading

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 off… Continue Reading

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 an… Continue Reading

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 hi… Continue Reading

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 20… Continue Reading

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 Judge… Continue Reading

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 really… Continue Reading

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 Whi… Continue Reading

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 many … Continue Reading

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 for… Continue Reading

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 f… Continue Reading

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). "Given … Continue Reading

Durbin Calls On Senate To Pass Immigration Reform Legislation Before The End Of The Year

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and author of the Dream Act, spoke on the Senate floor today about the reported immigration deal between Senators Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), as well as the urgency of passing the Dream Act this Congress to protect Dreamers from deportation. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has allowed hundreds of thousands of Dreamers to thrive in the United States. The… Continue Reading

Durbin, MLB Announce New Netting Requirements For All Professional Development League Clubs To Increase Fan Safety

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Major League Baseball (MLB) announced a new requirement today to have extensive protective netting in place at all Professional Development League (PDL) ballparks. The fan safety initiative was adopted at the 2022 Winter Meetings after being unanimously approved by the MLB PDL Executive Board. In June 2019, after repeated incidents of MLB fans being hit by foul balls, Durbin and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) wrote to MLB Com… Continue Reading

Durbin Highlights Resilience of Ukrainian People Amid Putin's War

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus and Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, reflected on the resilience of the Ukrainian people and continued allied unity amid Putin's unprovoked and illegal war. Yesterday, Durbin hosted members of the Ukrainian Parliament to receive an update on Putin's war, and discuss calls for a special tribunal to hold Russian leaders accountable for the crime of aggress… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls On Senate Colleagues To Include Measures To Regulate Dietary Supplements In Omnibus Appropriations Bill

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today took to the Senate floor to deliver a speech that called on his Senate colleagues to include provisions from his bipartisan Dietary Supplement Listing Act in the end-of-year omnibus appropriations bill. In his remarks, Durbin emphasized that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must exercise more oversight over the dietary supplement industry in order to empower consumers and protect public health. "More than seventy-five p… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Foster Applaud Final Passage Of Bill To Rename Will County Post Office In Honor Of Larry Walsh, Sr.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, and U.S. Representative Bill Foster (D-IL-11) today applauded last night's Senate passage of H.R. 700, legislation to rename the U.S. Post Office facility located at 303 E. Mississippi Ave. in Elwood, Illinois, after former Will County Executive Lawrence M. "Larry" Walsh, Sr. The bill will now head to President Biden's desk for his signature. A longtime farmer, Walsh began his political career in 1970, at … Continue Reading