Richard Durbin in The Chicago Tribune

On Jobs: Raise minimum wage to $10.10 & same pay regardless of gender

Durbin supports raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour and closing the pay gap between men and women.

Jim Oberweis prefers a minimum-wage hike only for workers who are in their mid-20s or older. His campaign calls the Durbin-backed measure to close the pay gap a "handy campaign prop" with no chance of becoming law.

Durbin favors gradual increases over 2 years until the minimum hits $10.10. Initially it would climb to $8.20 an hour, below the $8.25-an-hour minimum in Illinois. Later hikes would see the minimum wage rise to $9.15 and $10.10 [and thereafter] tie hikes in the minimum wage after 2016 to the rate of inflation. Durbin says the buying power of the minimum wage has dropped more than 30% since 1968. He says an increase would inject money into the economy, fueling demand for goods and services and creating 85,000 jobs. According to Durbin, businesses that don't pay employees enough to survive are asking the government to make up the difference with food stamps and other help.

Source: Chicago Tribune on 2014 Illinois Senate debate Oct 13, 2014

On Abortion: Abortion is a private decision

On social issues, Durbin, who once opposed abortion rights, defended his support for the procedure and called it a “private decision” that should be made by a woman, her doctor and her family. Sauerberg noted his opposition to abortion and said he and his family are actively involved in crisis pregnancy centers that provide women with an alternative. Source: 2008 Illinois Senate Debate reported in the Chicago Tribune Oct 7, 2008

On Health Care: Large-scale expansion of taxpayer-subsidized coverage

Durbin & Sauerberg clashed over the nation’s health-care crisis, with Durbin accusing Sauerberg, a physician, of proposing an end to government-backed insurance for the poor and elderly in favor of a program using tax credits to purchase private insurance.

“I don’t know of another doctor who is so bold as to believe that those people who count on these programs are somehow going to be protected in the market by themselves,” said Durbin, who favors a large-scale expansion of taxpayer-subsidized health-care coverage.

But Sauerberg said Durbin misunderstood his proposal, which he said would expand the availability of health-care coverage and make it portable and less job-dependent. “You can buy it. You can use vouchers. The government already pays for many, many people’s insurance,” Sauerberg said.

Source: 2008 Illinois Senate Debate reported in the Chicago Tribune Oct 7, 2008

On Homeland Security: Apologizes for comparing Guantanamo to Nazis & Soviet gulags

Sauerberg lashed out at a June 2005 speech in which Durbin said an FBI report on American treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, could be likened to the “Nazis, Soviets in their gulags” or the regime of Cambodian leader Pol Pot. Days later, Durbin apologized for his remarks and said he did not intend any “disrespect” for the U.S. military. Sauerberg called Durbin’s apology “weak.”

“I’m not sure what Sen. Durbin thought he was doing here,” he said. “I don’t know if he hates his country. I know they were terrible remarks that have hurt the people of this nation.”

“I think he’s resorting to personal, hateful personal attacks,” a Durbin spokesman said. “I don’t think that’s what people are looking for.”

Source: By Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune Jul 18, 2008

The above quotations are from Media coverage of IL political races in The Chicago Tribune. Click here for other excerpts from Media coverage of IL political races in The Chicago Tribune. Click here for other excerpts by Richard Durbin. Click here for a profile of Richard Durbin.
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Page last updated: Sep 18, 2022