Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Senator Dick Durbin says he knew the late Reverend Jesse Jackson well — even before Jackson was a two-time Presidential candidate.
“I first met him when I went to work for Paul Simon as Lieutenant Governor, when we went to my hometown of East Saint Louis and Cairo, Illinois, with something called ‘Operation Breadbasket,'” said Durbin, during an unrelated event in Springfield Tuesday. “He’s been my friend. We’ve worked together all over the years. We’re on speed dial with one another.”
Durbin says Jackson has done a lot for society, sine he was an associate of the late Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Junior.
“He made his contribution to this country, and his contribution to the betterment of lives for so many people. I’m proud to have counted him as a friend,” said Durbin. “We didn’t always agree, but we didn’t have to agree. We respected one another.”
Durbin says it’s hard to separate Jackson’s work in the religious community, from work in the political community, because both were a part of his goal of elevating people.
As for why the Springfield resident was in town, he was at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Illinois near 15th and Monroe, hearing concerns about continued federal funding cuts, and allegations of fraud. Durbin says those allegations, given the mounds of paperwork agencies have to go through to even get funding, are largely unfounded.
“Why is the administration eliminating this program? They say there’s fraud in the program,” said Durbin. “I asked (CEO) Tiffany Mathis Posey, ‘Has anyone asked you to present evidence one way or the other?’ She said, ‘No.’ It’s just the kind of charge they make with no basis in fact.”
Child care programs have been scrutinized following allegations of fraud in Minnesota, made by a man who refers to himself as an “independent journalist.”
Speaking of Minnesota, Durbin says he was glad to hear that troops are leaving Minnesota after an immigration that resulted in the deaths of two legal residents who protested Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions there. But Durbin says that came during the last minute, and as the government was about to be shutdown, due to disagreements over Department of Homeland Security funding.
“They knew we had two weeks to reach an agreement, on how to straighten up the mess we saw in Minneapolis, where innocent American citizens were killed in the streets,” said Durbin. “They had two weeks to do it, and waited until the very last minute with 24 hours to go. I knew that we were going to go into at least a temporary shutdown. I’m told now that they’re exchanging ideas. Maybe something good will happen this week.”
Durbin was also asked about the state budget process, with the Governor’s budget address Wednesday, and says in order to try and battle the Trump administration, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office needs to keep being fully funded.
