Senate Confirms Judge John Lee To Seventh Circuit

WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. Senate confirmed Judge John Lee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement regarding Judge Lee's confirmation: "Judge Lee is an embodiment of the American dream. Born to Korean parents and immigrating to Chicago at the age of four, he has dedicated his career to public service and the evenhanded administration of justice. When h… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions Judicial Nominees In Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing

WASHINGTON - During today's Senate Judiciary Committee nominations hearing, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned Cindy K. Chung, nominee to be United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit, and Justice Tamika R. Montgomery-Reeves, nominee to be United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit. Durbin first questioned Justice Montgomery-Reeves on her reasoning in Doe v. Coupe, in which she considered a Fourth Amendment challenge to… Continue Reading

Durbin Introduces Legislation To Improve Accountability Of Foreign Medical Schools Receiving Federal Student Aid

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced legislation that would protect students and taxpayers by closing a loophole that gives special treatment to a small number of overseas medical schools. The Foreign Medical School Accountability Fairness Act would require all medical schools outside of the U.S. and Canada to meet the same minimum requirements to receive Title IV student aid dollars. Currently, some overseas medical schools are exempt from meeting the min… Continue Reading

Durbin: The Confirmation Of Highly Qualified Judges Is One Of The Great, Shared Successes Of President Biden And Senate Democrats

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today spoke about the upcoming vote on Seventh Circuit nominee John Lee, and Senate Democrats' continued commitment to confirming highly qualified judges to the federal bench. "President Biden and Senate Democrats have made it a priority to elevate judicial nominees from demographically and professionally diverse backgrounds," Durbin said. "And during the 117th Co… Continue Reading

Durbin Leads Colleagues In Calling For Update From Inter-American Commission On Human Rights On Investigation Into Death Of Cuban Political Reformer Oswaldo Payá

WASHINGTON - With this summer marking the eleventh year since Cuban political reformer Oswaldo Payá's suspicious death, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Mark Warner (D-VA), urged the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to provide an update on this case without further delay. In 2013, Durbin sent his first letter to previous Commiss… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Applaud Nomination Of Colleen Lawless To Serve As District Court Judge For The Central District Of Ilinois

SPRINGFIELD - 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 White House announced the nomination of 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 President Biden is nominating Judge Colleen Lawless to serve as a District Court Judge for the Central District of Illinois. S… Continue Reading

Durbin Visits Local Farm To Discuss Impact Of Inflation Reduction Act On Illinois Agriculture Industry

CARBONDALE - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today visited a local farm to discuss the impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act on the Illinois agriculture industry. "Illinois' agriculture industry is not immune to climate change, with droughts in some parts of the state and flooding in others," said Durbin. "These weather changes are not exclusive to Illinois-they're a global issue. Congress designed the Inflation Reduct… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Illinois Delegation Urge President Biden To Grant FEMA Individual Assistance To Metro East Following Flash Floods

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with the entire Illinois Congressional delegation, sent a letter to President Biden requesting that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provide federal assistance to the State of Illinois to help St. Clair County respond to significant damage from the flash floods on July 26. "We write in support of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker's request for federal assistance for the State of Illin… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Department Of Education's Move To Approve $1.5 Billion Borrower Defense Group Discharge For Former Westwood College Students

SPRINGFIELD - U.S Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement on the U.S. Department of Education's announcement that the Department has approved $1.5 billion in full loan discharges for 79,000 borrowers regardless of whether the borrower submitted an individual borrower defense application. Of the 79,000 claims discharged, 12,650 belonged to Illinois student borrowers, amounting to $228.2 million in relief. "After almost ten years of urging multiple Administr… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On DHS Regulation To Preserve And Fortify DACA

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and lead author of the Dream Act, today released the following statement regarding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issuing a final rule that aims to preserve and fortify Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) for certain eligible noncitizens who arrived in the United States as children, deferring their removal and allowing them an opportunity to access a renewable, two-year work p… Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley Announce Judiciary Committee Hearing On Whistleblower Disclosure Of Widespread Security Failures At Twitter

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today announced that at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 13, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a full Committee hearing to examine allegations of widespread security failures at Twitter. The hearing will feature testimony by Peiter "Mudge" Zatko, who will appear pursuant to a subpoena and whose recent… Continue Reading

Durbin Releases Statement On President Biden's Announcement To Eliminate $10,000 In Student Loans

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after President Joe Biden announced his Administration's plan to eliminate $10,000 in federal student loan debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 a year and to extend the student loan payment freeze until December 31: "Tens of millions of Americans are plagued by student loan debt in pursuit of a quality education. Today's announcement by President Biden is a crucial step to enable low- and m… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Claims Of Widespread Security Failures At Twitter

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding reports by a former senior security employee at Twitter who is alleging widespread security failures at the company: "The whistleblower's allegations of widespread security failures at Twitter, willful misrepresentations by top executives to government agencies, and penetration of the company by foreign intelligence raise serious concerns. If thes… Continue Reading

Durbin Hosts Rural Health Summit To Discuss Workforce Challenges, Federal Assistance

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today convened a Rural Health Summit to discuss workforce challenges with local health leaders and educators. Durbin also discussed the federal government's role in addressing these challenges, including $1 billion in funding he secured in the American Rescue Plan for the National Health Service Corps and the Nurse Corps to place more providers in underserved communities. "For more than two years, health care workers have provided care for us in the… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Lightfoot Announce $3 Million FRA Grant For Chicago Union Station

CHICAGO - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot today announced that Chicago Union Station will receive $3,000,000 in federal funding, awarded by the Federal Railroad Administration, to complete the design process for planned renovations to the train station's concourse level, which serves Amtrak and Metra passengers. "Chicago Union Station has been a central transportation hub in the Midwest since its original construction in 1925. Bu… Continue Reading

Durbin Releases Statement On Department Of Education's Group Discharge Of Student Borrowers Who Attended ITT Technical Institute

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after the Department of Education announced the widespread discharge of all remaining federal student loans, totaling $3.9 billion in relief, for those who attended ITT Technical Institute (ITT Tech) from January 2005 through the for-profit college's closure in September 2016: "It's been almost six years since the disastrous collapse of the infamous for-profit college chain, ITT Tech. When the ITT … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $4 Million For Medical Research In Illinois

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $4,063,637 in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) medical research grant funding for Illinois institutions. The funding will be put toward research programs across the state to support medical advancement in various fields, from drug addiction research to vascular disease research. "Federal investments allow the United States to continue discovering key breakthroughs in … Continue Reading

Durbin Addresses Impact Of Flooding In Cahokia Heights And East St. Louis

CAHOKIA HEIGHTS - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today held a news conference with local officials to discuss the impact of flooding in the region after record-breaking storms late last month displaced residents with more than nine inches of rain falling in two days-an amount that would normally fall in a 75-day span. Prior to today's new conference, Senator Durbin met with residents impacted by chronic flooding in Cahokia Heights and also visited sites in East St. Louis damaged by recent storm… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $71 Million In Funding For Illinois Transit Systems From Department Of Transportation's Low-No And Buses And Bus Facilities Grant Programs

CHICAGO - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $71,009,648 in grant funding awarded to Illinois transit systems by the Department of Transportation (DOT) through the Low-No and Buses and Bus Facilities Grant Programs. The Low-No Program will support the transition of the nation's transit fleet to the lowest polluting and most energy efficient transit vehicles by providing funding to state and local governmental authorities for the purchase or lease of zero… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $83.5 Million In Funding For Illinois From Department Of Transportation's RAISE Grant Program

CHICAGO - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $83,500,000 in grant funding awarded to Illinois communities by the Department of Transportation (DOT) through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program to help communities around the country carry out infrastructure and transportation projects with significant local or regional impact. "Investments in rebuilding and modernizing Illinois' infrastr… Continue Reading