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Showing 797 posts from Richard J. Durbin.
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- RD
Great conversation today with the Korean American Association of Greater Chicago about how we can best support our small businesses and protect health care for every generation.
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- RD
Air traffic controllers already work one of the most stressful jobs in America. And now their pay increase is being used as a bargaining chip by the Trump Administration. Our air traffic controllers deserve better. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
link:https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-09-02/faa-withholds-controller-pay-hike-amid-scheduling-overhaul-talks?taid=021af3c4-bf77-4b68-b061-1d0c692be945&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_content=business&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
- RD
Another person just died in ICE detention. It’s more than double the number of people who died in all four years under the previous Administration. The Trump Administration’s mass deportation policy does not represent America’s values.
quote:at://did:plc:x4kq5wkbme72y7yhjat4dkgq/app.bsky.feed.post/3mujzw4l2us2a
- RD
As the U.S. faces a health care workforce shortage, I've made it a priority to secure federal funding for stellar nursing education, including the Illinois Wesleyan University Innovation Program. It was great to visit with nursing students & tour the program's updated education facilities today.
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Army Secretary Driscoll was a professional in every way. I asked him to add Rock Island Arsenal to his priority visitation list. He was there within months as Secretary. He was always responsive and willing to help. Our country is fortunate to have had his outstanding service.
- RD
It's been ONE YEAR since the Trump Administration began its illegal boat strike campaign, targeting and killing 227 people. Let's not mince words: these strikes are extrajudicial killings.
- RD
My mentor, Senator Paul Simon, was dedicated to serving the most vulnerable by expanding access to clean drinking water. I recently received the Water Advocate Award, but I thought it fitting to share this honor with the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute in recognition of Senator Simon's legacy.
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Trump is deporting our Afghan allies' family members, even though they were approved by a immigration judge to live in the U.S. He's sending them to places where they may be at risk of persecution or torture, without due process. That's not just unlawful, it’s cruel. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/29/u...
link:https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/29/us/afghans-deported-us-central-african-republic.html
- RD
After three years of construction, the Southern Illinois Multimodal Station is now open. This means more residents can get to the doctor, visit family, or travel nationwide. Proud to have played a role in securing $18 million in federal funding to bring this project to life.
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Community colleges are one of the best tools we have to connect education with opportunity. Great discussion today with community college leaders from Southern Illinois about investing in workforce development, job training, apprenticeships, and adult education.
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A year after Trump's $1 trillion cut to Medicaid, hospitals like Deaconess Illinois Medical Center are feeling the impact & cutting back on services. Our hospitals deserve more support, not less. I'm dedicated to reversing these shameful cuts & strengthening Medicaid & the ACA.
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For more than 100 years, the Du Quoin State Fair has brought Southern Illinois together to showcase the best of the region. A pleasure to join folks at the new @siu.edu Tedrick Welcome Center to kick off this year's Du Quoin State Fair.
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- RD
In February, President Trump promised a swift conflict with Iran. Six months later, we are still at war, the Strait of Hormuz is still held hostage by Iran, American troops have been killed and wounded, and prices are soaring at home. The President owes us a coherent exit plan out of this mess.
- RD
Social Security is an American promise, but Congress is unwilling to do the hard work required to keep it. But Senator Bill Cassidy & I have a plan: the bipartisan PROMISE Act. Read more about how we can protect Social Security for the next generation ⬇️ www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-am...
link:https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/faith-freedom-self-reliance/4701848/congress-sleepwalking-into-social-security-crisis/?itm_source=parsely-api
- RD
GREAT LAKES ALERT: Decades of battling against the invasion of the invasive Carp into our Great Lakes hangs in the balance. Our highest priority must be the completion of the Brandon Road Project as soon as possible.
- RD
The Consulate General of Mexico in Chicago has been an invaluable partner to Illinois, working with us to support diplomatic relations & our immigrant community. I'm grateful for the work Ambassador Reyna Torres Mendivil does to bring together Illinois & Mexico.
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- RD
A pleasure to join the American Bar Association for a fireside chat to reflect on my work in the Senate Judiciary Committee. From passing the bipartisan First Step Act to confirming a record 235 lifetime federal judges during the Biden Admin, I'm honored to have led this Committee
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- RD
Today, I attended a "mega master" immigration court hearing in Chicago—the latest ploy in Trump's cruel deportation campaign that has sown fear into our communities & derailed due process. The cruelty this Admin has inflicted on immigrants, especially children, is unfathomable.
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- RD
The right to vote is fundamental to our democracy, & the President’s efforts to chip away at that right must be rejected. Yesterday’s temporary, procedural order from SCOTUS doesn’t change the reality that the Constitution empowers states, not the President, to run our elections.
- RD
President Trump is raking in millions of dollars in profits on his oil and gas stocks while Americans pay more every day at the pump. His war with Iran may be making him and his oil billionaire buddies rich, but it is American families paying the cost for his recklessness.
quote:at://did:plc:mtwom57onohy7mymkgdwzq55/app.bsky.feed.post/3mttlvaqxdc2l
- RD
I just met with manufacturing and innovation leaders in Illinois. mHUB is giving startups and manufacturers the tools they need to create the jobs and technologies of the future.
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- RD
$40 trillion. For a President & a Republican Party who have railed for years against the debt, it’s ironic that America is deeper than ever in the red under their leadership. From Trump’s billionaire tax cuts to his war with Iran, it’s clear fiscal responsibility is the last thing on his mind.
link:https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/19/business/economy/us-debt-40-trillion.html
- RD
We’re a nation of immigrants. I was honored to welcome 300 new citizens at Illinois’ state fair naturalization ceremony just now. To our newest citizens: you now carry both the rights and the responsibilities of this democracy, and I'm counting on you to exercise and defend them.
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- RD
The latest mass deportation scheme: mega master hearings. As many as 185 noncitizens are being called to court on a single docket. It’s intentional overcrowding with little notice… and a blatant attempt to increase removal orders.
- RD
The Trump Administration is expanding its mass deportation campaign by gutting the immigration court and flooding the docket every day.
- RD
The Red Cross just declared a national blood supply crisis—and it’s already impacting treatments. It can mean the difference between life and death. I thanked the professionals at medical sites like ImpactLife in Springfield today for their service.
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- RD
President Trump’s suggestion that North Korea has been “unthreatening and respectful” utterly ignores the regime’s help to Russia’s war in Ukraine and growing number of nuclear weapons, and ballistic missile tests—including one that can reach key allies and the U.S.
link:https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/08/16/trump-reduces-military-exercises-with-south-korea-citing-good-ties-with-kim-jong-un/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social
- RD
I joined my Democratic colleagues in calling on the Government Accountability Office to conduct a full, transparent accounting of Trump’s ballroom boondoggle. The American taxpayer has a right to know how much of their hard-earned money is going toward the President’s vanity projects.
- RD
It was great to visit the Joliet Junior College Entrepreneur and Business Center to celebrate the good work at the core of this center’s mission. Small businesses need our support, and that’s exactly what the EBC is offering through its trainings for women, minority, and veteran-owned businesses.
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- RD
One of the best jobs I ever had was working at a bookstore while I was a student at Georgetown. It helped put me through school & cemented my lifelong love of reading. Pleased to visit Bernie's Book Bank to discuss their incredible work providing books to the children who need them most.
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- RD
Today, I met with Waukegan small business owners to discuss how the second Trump Administration has undermined their operations. Whether through “Operation Midway Blitz,” tariffs, or federal funding cuts, the Admin has made it harder for small businesses in Illinois, and America, to get by.
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- RD
I joined @kidsaboveall.bsky.social today to discuss the effects of Republicans’ $1 trillion Medicaid cuts & delays in child care funding. We must support children and communities who have been hurt by these devastating attacks on crucial social services.
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- RD
Under Trump and RFK Jr., measles cases have hit a 35-year high, whooping cough has resurged, & Americans are increasingly dying from preventable diseases. Their latest decision to upend the childhood immunization schedule will only make our kids sicker & must be immediately reversed.
- RD
I visited the Illinois Quantum Microelectronics Park today to hear how progress is coming along on the campus’ development. Illinois already leads the nation in quantum technology, & the completion of the IQMP will only further our innovative edge while supporting the Southside of Chicago.
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Stopped by Dion’s Chicago Dream today to hear about how this remarkable organization is helping hungry Chicagoans access fresh, delicious produce. Dion’s has already completed more than 780,000 food deliveries in its six years of operation, and I hope it will continue to make many, many more.
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- RD
Pleased to see the Senate pass my resolution with @duckworth.senate.gov congratulating the Cubs on their upcoming 150th anniversary. I’m honored this resolution passed the Senate to celebrate our beloved Cubbies, and their dedicated, passionate fans.
- RD
It was a grave mistake for the Senate to approve Todd Blanche as the next Attorney General. If there is ever a moment in history when we need an Attorney General above reproach, who is dedicated to ending corruption, it is right now.
- RD
I’m thrilled to see the Senate pass legislation to further sanction Russia & its oil purchasers. Momentum in the war has shifted toward Ukraine and tightening sanctions should pressure the Kremlin to finally negotiate. I am pleased to help co-lead this law and encourage the House to pass it ASAP.
- RD
Dr. Fauci deserves an apology for the way he was treated by my Republican colleagues.
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- RD
The Trump Administration has admitted it cancelled energy grants in Illinois solely because our state didn’t vote for Donald Trump in 2024. I led members of the Illinois Democratic Congressional delegation in sending a letter to the admin calling out this brazen attack on our state.
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Today is the 61st anniversary of the passage of the Voting Rights Act—a landmark piece of legislation that affirmed the principle our nation was founded on: all men are created equal. As its legacy is attacked today, we must continue fighting for the right to vote for every American.
- RD
It is a sad day indeed when leaders use their authority in ways that cause harm, feed ego, or damage individuals who have spent their lives in service to others. Dr. Fauci deserves better.
- RD
It was an embarrassment to watch my Republican colleagues berate and belittle Dr. Fauci for nearly three hours last week. If they had genuine concern for America’s public health, they would turn their attention instead to the destruction wrought by the Trump Administration’s anti-science agenda.
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- RD
This is the FULL story of the Trump-Blanche MAGA slush fund. (Hint: The final “agreement” couldn’t pass law school Contracts 101.)
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- RD
It’s no surprise that a President who peddled ‘Trump University’ would side with predatory for-profit colleges. Finally—after years of Trump Administration stonewalling—this court ruling is delivering justice to the hundreds of thousands of students who were left in the lurch.
link:https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamminsky/2026/06/15/student-loan-discharge-emails-sent-to-30000-borrowers-as-settlement-relief-proceeds/?utm_source=ForbesMainTwitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ForbesMainTwitter
- RD
I joined @duckworth.senate.gov & the entire Senate Democratic Caucus in calling on the Trump Administration to remove their Medicaid red tape requirements, which will lead to Americans losing access to health care they need.
- RD
Todd Blanche told me privately that he “made a mistake” creating the MAGA slush fund. I asked him about it under oath. And he lied to Congress. His willingness to casually lie under oath shows how far he will go to avoid offending his only boss: Donald Trump.
- RD
I joined @repbillfoster.bsky.social today for an oversight visit to a shelter housing unaccompanied children. Many of these children have already endured horrors that no child should face and they ought to be treated with dignity and have their case heard before an unbiased court system.
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- RD
This is abhorrent. Senate Republicans need to hold a hearing on family detention ASAP.
quote:at://did:plc:x4kq5wkbme72y7yhjat4dkgq/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrxnh2pcd22q
- RD
There’s no better way to close out the summer session of the Senate than hosting a constituent coffee with @duckworth.senate.gov to hear directly from Illinoisans about the issues that matter most. Thank you to everyone who came to speak with us today!
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