Durbin Responds To Cornyn, Tillis Letter On Dream Act Proposal

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and lead author of the Dream Act, today responded to a July 6, 2021, letter from U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) requesting a Senate Judiciary Committee business meeting to consider legislation, which apparently has not yet been introduced, to "offer permanent legal status to only currently enrolled and active participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)… Continue Reading

Durbin: Congress Must Address Gun Violence In Chicago And Across The Country

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today spoke on the Senate floor about President Biden's Gun Crime Prevention Strategy and what must be done to help prevent mass shooting tragedies in Chicago and across the country. "Did you hear that? This year, 23,000 gun violence deaths in America…Sadly, virtually every weekend is a mass shooting in the City of Chicago," Durbin said. "No other nation on Earth experiences this massive c… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Department Of Education Approving 1,600 Borrower Defense Claims 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 announcing that it has approved 1,600 borrower defense claims from former Westwood College students, amounting to $53 million in relief. Of the 1,600 claims discharged, 488 belonged to Illinoisans, totaling $16 million in relief. In 2012, then-Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a suit against Westwood College for using deceptive marketing in violation of… Continue Reading

Durbin: Prescription Drug Advertisements Should Disclose Prices

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today held a virtual news conference with A.J. Wilhelmi, President and CEO of the Illinois Health and Hospital Association (IHA), and Rosanna Marquez, State President of AARP Illinois, to discuss bipartisan legislation he introduced last month to address the high cost of medicines by requiring price disclosures on advertisements for prescription drugs. "Over the course of the pandemic, many Americans spent more time at home watching television. And … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Urge SBA To Support State's Request For DuPage County Disaster Declaration

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) sent a letter to Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman supporting Illinois Governor JB Pritzker's request for a Disaster Declaration for DuPage County in Illinois as a result of a tornado that touched down on June 21, 2021. The damage assessment conducted this month by the SBA found that 79 properties either incurred damage or were destroyed as a result of the t… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $2 Million In Federal Funding To Address Violence, Support Trauma-Informed Care In Chicago

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced a total of $2 million in federal funding to help address trauma and the cycle of violence in Chicago. The funding, which was awarded by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), will support four Chicago initiatives aimed at expanding and improving trauma-informed care for youth who have been exposed to community violence. "Too many kids in Chicago carry the burden of trauma and too often, there'… Continue Reading

Durbin, Murray, Colleagues Submit Public Comment On Rulemaking To Department Of Education, Urge Accountability Of For-Profit Colleges

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), led a group of 10 Senators in sending a public comment to the U.S. Department of Education regarding the Department's upcoming accountability rulemaking related to improving program integrity, oversight accountability, and consumer protection for institutions of higher education that receive taxpayer-funded federal financia… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls On Justice Department To Reconsider Its Approach To Ongoing Detention At Guantanamo Bay

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today urged Attorney General (AG) Merrick Garland to ensure that the Department of Justice's (DOJ) approach to ongoing detention at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay reflects the values of our nation. In a letter to AG Garland, Durbin argued that indefinite detention is antithetical to the ideals of liberty that the United States was founded upon and called on Garland to reconsider DOJ's approach to… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Assassination Of Haitian President Moise

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement on the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse: "The criminal assassination of Haitian President Moïse will only further the country's political and security crises. I'm calling on the UN and OAS to hold emergency meetings on the situation in Haiti this week and establish a peacekeeping force to help stabilize the nation and create conditions for an overdue election. The U.S. shoul… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Build Back Better Event With President Biden

CRYSTAL LAKE - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement today after joining President Biden during his trip to Illinois, including an event at McHenry Community College in which the President discussed his "Build Back Better" agenda to help working families in Illinois and around the country: "President Biden's American Families Plan would make education more affordable and provide economic security to Illinois families. Universal access to high-quality Pre-… Continue Reading

Durbin, Colleagues Call On Inter-American Commission On Human Rights To Complete Investigation Of Death Of Cuban Political Reformer Oswaldo Paya

WASHINGTON - Ahead of the ninth anniversary of Cuban political reformer Oswaldo Payá's suspicious death, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Ted Cruz (R-TX), urged the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to advance its efforts on this case without further delay. In 2013, Durbin sent a letter to previous Commission Executive Secretary Emilio Icaza originally urging the C… Continue Reading

Durbin, Democrats Urge Education Department To Expand Debt Relief For Student Loan Borrowers

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and 21 of their Senate colleagues in urging Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to expand student debt relief in the Department's upcoming higher education rulemaking In a letter to Secretary Cardona, the members highlighted the need for polices that improve and expand our existing student loan repayment and forgiveness programs to ensure borrowers can access the relief they are owed. Specifically, th… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Department Of Education OIG Report On Dream Center Schools

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today issued the following statement on the U.S. Department of Education Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report on the Trump Department of Education's handling of the conversion and closure of Dream Center schools. The report found that under the direction of Principal Deputy Undersecretary Diane Auer Jones, the Department of Education failed to comply with its own internal procedures in order to assist in finding a buyer for the finan… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Supreme Court Decisions In Voting Rights & Donor Disclosure Cases

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding the Supreme Court's 6-3 decisions in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee and Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta: "Today, the conservative 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court issued two decisions: making it harder to vote in an election in one, and making it easier to hide major donors in the other. These decisions ultimately target the … Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley Statement on Justice Department Responsiveness To Committee Members' Oversight Requests

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, released the following statement regarding a virtual meeting today between members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Attorney General (AG) Merrick Garland about the Department of Justice's (DOJ) responsiveness to committee members' oversight requests: "Today's discussion was a step in the right direction… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On House Vote Creating January 6 Select Committee

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after the House voted to create a January 6 select committee to investigate both the security failings of the January 6 attack as well as the circumstances leading up to the insurrection: "Our Capitol Police officers-to whom we entrust our lives every day-members of the D.C. Metro Police, and the other heroes who defended the Capitol on January 6 deserve justic… Continue Reading

Durbin: Equity In Great Lakes Restoration Initiative A Key Part Of Protecting Our Lake

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined the Alliance for the Great Lakes and State Representative Kam Buckner (D-26) in Chicago to discuss efforts to prioritize historically marginalized and underserved communities in projects to restore and protect the Great Lakes. Durbin is calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take concrete steps to prioritize low-income and communities of color within the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) - an inter-agency effort… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Underwood Announce $5 Million For Plainfield's 143rd Street Extension Project

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14) today announced that the Village of Plainfield has been awarded $5 million in federal funding to construct the eastern extension of 143rd Street, which will help alleviate traffic and improve safety for vehicles traveling through and within the Village. The funding was awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant program. "This f… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Newman Announce $19 Million For Archer Ave Grade Separation Project

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Congresswoman Marie Newman (D-IL-03) today announced $19.13 million in federal funding for the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to support the Archer Avenue and the Belt Railway of Chicago (BRC) Grade Separation Project, which will help eliminate road-rail conflicts, avoid first responder delays, and reduce traffic congestion on Chicago's Southwest Side. The funding was awarded through the U.S. Departme… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Rate Of DACA Application Processing Under Biden Administration

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and lead author of the Dream Act, released the following statement regarding the quarterly report on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) requests, which shows that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has approved only 763 initial DACA applications under the Biden Administration, with nearly 100,000 initial and renewal applications pending: "The slow rate of processing DACA app… Continue Reading