Durbin Meets With Illinois State University President

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Dr. Aondover Tarhule, President of Illinois State University, to discuss the university’s plans to build a new STEM facility to house modern laboratories and teaching spaces to support student enrollment and workforce development in engineering, nursing, data science, biology, chemistry, pre-medicine, and ecological sciences.  Once complete, the building will provide teaching space for 800 students daily and help foster eco… Continue Reading

Durbin: An Enforceable Code Of Conduct Is Absolutely Essential To Restoring Public Confidence In The Supreme Court

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today spoke on the Senate floor on the need for Supreme Court ethics reform, including a clear, enforceable code of conduct for Supreme Court justices.  The floor speech comes after Durbin called for Justice Clarence Thomas’s recusal from any case involving First Liberty Institute followingProPublica reporting that Ginni Thomas praised the conservative legal organization for “fill[ing] the sails o… Continue Reading

Durbin Touts Reduced Prescription Costs Made Possible By Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today delivered a speech on the Senate floor highlighting the Biden-Harris Administration’s announcement last month that Medicare has reduced the costs of 10 of the most expensive and frequently-dispensed prescription drugs for seniors.  In his remarks today, Durbin spoke about his support for Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act, which provided the Biden-Harris Administration with the authority to negotiate the drug prices with Big Pharma,… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Cook County Board President Preckwinkle, Cook County Health Leadership

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sat down with Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Cook County Health and Hospital System Acting CEO Dr. Erik Mikaitis in his Washington office to discuss the County’s health priorities.  In their discussion, Durbin and the Cook County leaders spoke about the need to prevent cuts scheduled for December 31 to the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital funding, which Chicago-area hospitals rely on to fulfill their safety… Continue Reading

Durbin Honors Hersh Goldberg-Polin On Senate Floor

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today spoke on the Senate floor to honor Israeli American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who had been held hostage by Hamas since the October 7th attacks.  During his speech, Durbin reflected on the life and legacy of Mr. Goldberg-Polin, who had ties to Illinois, and commended his parents for doing everything they could to bring him home before he was murdered by Hamas. “He [Goldberg-Polin] was one of the young people at the music festival on Oct… Continue Reading

Durbin Backs Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus As Interim Leader Of Bangladesh

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today took to the Senate floor to express his support for Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus, who was recently selected to lead the Bangladeshi caretaker government following the resignation of former authoritarian Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.  In his remarks, Durbin detailed Dr. Yunus’ life-long work of developing microloan programs that allow low-income families in developing countries make a living. Durbin began his remark… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls For Justice Thomas's Recusal In Any Supreme Court Case Involving First Liberty Institute

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement calling for Justice Clarence Thomas’s recusal from any case involving First Liberty Institute following ProPublica reporting that Ginni Thomas praised the conservative legal organization for “fill[ing] the sails of many judges” by working against commonsense ethics reform: “The reported comments by Ginni Thomas are deeply problematic. She’s testified before Congress… Continue Reading

Durbin Introduces Bill To Halt U.S. Investment In Venezuela's Energy Sector Until Legitimate Election Results Are Respected

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced a bill terminating all U.S. petroleum cooperation and petroleum-related trade with Venezuela until the legitimate results of the recent Venezuelan election are respected.  On July 28, more than 10 million Venezuelans peacefully voted in the presidential election, with results meticulously compiled by credible election monitors showing an overwhelming victory for opposition candidate, Edmundo González, over President Nicol… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce Over $32 Million In Federal Funding For Pedestrian And Bicyclist Safety

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $32,165,705 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Safe Street and Roads for All grant program. This funding will go towards pedestrian, bike, and transit infrastructure and safety measures including bike lanes, speed reduction tactics, and intersection improvements.   The DOT’s Safe Street and Roads for All program, established through the Bipartisan … Continue Reading

Durbin Highlights Lower Drug Pricing Under Medicare For Illinoisans

CHICAGO – Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined health care professionals at the University of Illinois-Chicago College of Pharmacy to highlight last month’s announcement from the Biden-Harris Administration on the savings produced by the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) initial round of price negotiations for 10 of the costliest medications under Medicare. This negotiation secured price reductions of up to 79 percent, which will save nine million seniors nationwide an estim… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $8 Million In Federal Funding For Health Care Research In Illinois

CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $8,196,118 in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) medical research grants for Illinois institutions. This federal funding through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will be put toward research programs across the state to support medical advancement in various fields, ranging from lung diseases to mental health research.   “Federal investments in medical research pu… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce Nearly $1 Million In Federal Funding For Rural Illinois EMS Services

SPRINGFIELD  –   U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $962,877 in federal funding through Durbin’s Supporting and Improving Rural EMS Needs (SIREN) Act to support emergency medical services (EMS) agencies in rural communities. The funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which was created through Durbin’s SIREN Act, goes toward supporting rural fire and EMS agencies in training and recruit… Continue Reading

Durbin, Pallone, Merkley Lead Amicus Brief Urging Supreme Court To Support FDA's Public Health Authority And Actions To Regulate E-Cigarettes

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee; U.S. Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ-06), Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee; and U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) led a group of sixteen lawmakers in filing an amicus brief to the Supreme Court today urging the Court to support the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) authority and actions to regulate e-cigarettes.  During its upcoming term, the Supreme Court will h… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Mayor Johnson, Members Of Illinois Delegation Announce $15 Million In Federal Funding For EV Charging Infrastructure In Chicago

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, and U.S. Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-9), Danny Davis (D-IL-1), Robin Kelley (D-IL-2), Sean Casten (D-IL-6), Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-IL-4), and Delia Ramirez (D-IL-3) today announced $15,000,000 in federal funding coming to Chicago through the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for Charge Up Chicago! Chicago Community Resources and Charging Infrastructure Implem… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Hersh Goldberg-Polin

CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement on the death of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American Israeli citizen with Chicago ties who was taken hostage during the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack in Israel: “Hersh Goldberg-Polin was a young man with his entire life ahead of him when he attended a music festival on October 7. When Hamas viciously attacked the Nova music festival, Hersh was horribly injured attempting to help his fellow music festival att… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls Upon GAO To Revive FDA-DOJ Interagency Enforcement Activities Against Illegal E-Cigarettes

CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today sent a letter to the Comptroller General of the United States, Gene Dodaro, urging the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) interagency enforcement activities related to the sale of unauthorized e-cigarettes.  Durbin has repeatedly criticized FDA and DOJ for the long-overdue review of pre-market tobacco pr… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Lead Members Of Illinois Delegation In Urging President Biden To Grant Federal Disaster Declaration For Illinois Counties Following July's Severe Storms, Tornadoes

SPRINGFIELD – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today led 16 members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation in sending a letter to President Biden urging the White House to grant Governor JB Pritzker’s request for federal assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help seven Illinois counties recover from storm damage.  In July, severe storms passed through the state, with more than 40 tornadoes spinning through Central … Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Damning Report Finding Continued Widespread FBI Mishandling of Child Sexual Abuse Investigations Following Larry Nassar Case

CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement after the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a damning report on its audit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) compliance with policies in child sexual abuse investigations. The DOJ OIG audit was conducted in response to a request from Durbin and a bipartisan group of Senate Judiciary Committee members in 2021. “The FB… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Budzinski Secure Funding For Disaster Preparedness In Illinois

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representative Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13) today announced $118,945 in funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s (NIFA) Smith-Lever Special Needs Competitive Grants Program going to the University of Illinois.   The Smith-Lever Special Needs Competitive Grants Program supports innovative, education-based approaches to address disaster preparedn… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $57 Million In Funding For Elementary School On North Chicago Naval Base

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced the award of a $57,701,575 grant to North Chicago School District 187 at Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois from the Department of Defense (DoD). The project will address facility capacity and condition deficiencies at Forrestal Elementary School. Upon completion, 580 kindergarten through fifth grade students will be supported through the project. Funding for this grant is provided un… Continue Reading