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U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded Illinois organizations grants totaling $9,540,655 to prevent homelessness among veterans and their families. Today’s funding will help pay for outreach, case management, and assistance related to VA benefits. More than $300 million were awarded nationwide today through the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program.

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced $1,163,954 in federal funding for infrastructure improvements and upgrades at Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. The grant was awarded through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the Senate has passed a long-term, bipartisan transportation bill that provides the certainty that businesses and state governments, like Illinois, need to plan critical infrastructure projects and create good-paying jobs. Since the previous long-term transportation bill expired in 2009, Congress has passed 33 stop-gap measures to keep the country’s major transportation and infrastructure programs from shutting down.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced today that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has awarded grants totaling $3,161,281 to communities throughout Illinois. Today’s funding will support and improve the capability of each department to respond to fires and other types of emergencies

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 Administrator Susan Hedman and other community leaders joined the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) in unveiling the new disinfection facility at the Calumet Water Reclamation Plant (WRP) on Friday

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) met with the Illinois Farm Bureau today to discuss the importance of continuing to support and invest in Illinois’ agricultural communities. The group discussed the impact of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) long-delayed proposal to set production levels under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and other agricultural priorities

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos (IL-17) announced $6,698,797 in federal funding that will go toward infrastructure improvements and upgrades at Chicago Rockford International Airport. The grant will be used to build a terminal building expansion that will help travelers move more efficiently through the gate holding area

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced legislation today that would give veteran-owned small businesses access to surplus federal property, reducing overhead costs and helping these small businesses grow. The Veterans Small Business Enhancement Act would expand the Government Service Administration’s excess federal property program, which makes available items that federal agencies no longer need – from computers and office furniture to tools and construction equipment. Durbin also introduced this bill in the previous Congress

U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Al Franken (D-MN) today called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set strong Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) required under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) that provides long-needed certainty to farmers and workers in the biodiesel industry while helping domestic producers grow. They also pressed the EPA to live up to its legal obligation of ending its years-long delay of setting RVOs.

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today urged members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation to include several Illinois priorities in their Passenger Rail Reauthorization legislation. Durbin also raised several significant concerns regarding related legislation passed by the House of Representatives earlier this year that would have a significant impact on Illinois’ passenger rail system

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced today that the City of Quincy, Illinois has received a $1,100,000 grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Aviation Administration for infrastructure improvements and upgrades at Quincy Regional-Baldwin Field Airport. This grant will be used to construct a new taxiway, assisting the airport in meeting new design and safety standards, and improving access to the airfield for employers and economic drivers in the region

WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) wrote to Illinois Governor Pat Quinn today, pledging to work together to protect Illinois servicemembers from excessive mortgage fees and foreclosure. Recent news reports have raised concerns that servicemembers are being overcharged for the mortgages and foreclosed upon in violation of their legal rights. Durbin asked Quinn to do all that he can to ensure servicemembers are aware of their rights and the resources available to them.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 20, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), General Eric Shinseki, to discuss how to meet the needs of the estimated 1,500 veterans that go homeless every night in Illinois. Secretary Shinseki is scheduled to testify tomorrow at a joint hearing of two Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on his plan to reduce the number of homeless veterans in the United States by half over the next two years and completely by 2014

Foreclosures not limited to predatory lending as more homeowners are “underwater”. CHICAGO, IL - March 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- More homeowners across Chicago find themselves at risk of foreclosure as property values drop and families struggle with unemployment, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said today at a news conference to release National People’s Action’s 2009 Chicago Foreclosure Report.

CHICAGO, IL - September 3, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with members of the Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP) to discuss the state of the foreclosure crisis on Chicago’s southwest side and to discuss a several legislative proposals he is considering introducing in the Senate this fall. One proposal would give homeowners facing foreclosure the right to temporarily remain in their homes by paying fair-market rent to the bank, another would provide funding to support mandatory arbitration programs in which homeowners and banks sit down face to face to work out loan modifications, and a third would extend the tax credit for first time home buyers enacted earlier this year to further reduce excess housing inventory that is dragging down sale prices.