Key Illinois Democrats at odds with Durbin over shutdown vote — again
[November 11, 2025]
By Ben Szalinski
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is once again at odds with other prominent
Illinois Democrats over a vote that set in motion a plan to end the
record-long federal government shutdown.
Durbin, who is not seeking reelection in 2026, was one of eight members
in the Senate Democratic caucus to join Republicans in supporting a
procedural vote to begin the process of passing legislation to fund the
government, which entered its 41st day without a budget on Monday. But
that package will not include health care subsidies that Democrats had
demanded be included in a bill to reopen the government.
“Republicans finally woke up and realized their Groundhog Day needed to
end,” Durbin said in a statement Sunday night. “This bill is not
perfect, but it takes important steps to reduce their shutdown’s hurt.
Not only would it fully fund SNAP for the year ahead, but it would
reverse the mass firings the Trump Administration ordered throughout the
shutdown.”
Senate Democrats believe they secured a promise from Senate Republican
leaders to hold a Senate vote on the Affordable Care Act tax credits.
The tax credits expire at the end of the year, setting the stage for
health care premiums to skyrocket. Congressional Democrats have refused
for more than a month to vote for any bill that did not include new
health care tax credits to rein in costs.
But many of Illinois’ top Democrats are opposed to the Durbin-backed
funding plan. It also marks the second time this year Durbin has found
himself at odds with Gov. JB Pritzker over a Senate vote to fund the
government.
Pritzker, who is widely discussed as a possible 2028 presidential
candidate, said he favors continuing to fight President Donald Trump
with a government shutdown, which many Democrats believe gives their
party leverage to force Republicans to support funding the ACA
subsidies.
“This is not a deal — it’s an empty promise,” Gov. JB Pritzker said on
social media. “Trump and his Republican Congress are making healthcare
more expensive for the middle class and ending it for working families.
Time for Democrats to stand tall for affordable healthcare.”
Durbin also sided with Republicans in March and voted for the spending
plan that kept the government open through September. That triggered
outrage from many Democrats who favored shutting down the government at
the time to make it harder for Trump to implement his agenda.
Pritzker said in March that Durbin’s decision was a “huge mistake,” and
he was “dead wrong.”
Congressional Dems doubt leverage
The Senate’s vote on Sunday sets the stage for the chamber to pass
substantive legislation to fund the government through Jan. 30, but it
will require the House’s approval and Trump’s signature first. That
timeline remains unclear.
CNN reported the plan would fully fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program benefits through next September and reverses Trump’s firing of
federal workers during the shutdown.
Durbin said Republicans own the blame for the shutdown, adding he
believes Democrats can claim victory with the vote.
“Now that Democrats secured these wins, it’s time for Leader (John)
Thune to keep his promise to schedule a vote on the ACA tax credits in
December, and we will see to it that he makes good on his word for the
millions of Americans worried they won’t be able to afford health care
in January,” Durbin said.
Many, including Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, want congressional
Democrats to continue holding out for ACA tax credits.
“I simply cannot, and I will not, vote to do nothing to help protect
them (families) from Trump’s vindictive and malicious efforts in
exchange for a vague promise from the least trustworthy Republican party
in our nation’s history,” Duckworth said in a statement after voting
against the procedural vote on Sunday.
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U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin speaks at the Illinois Democratic County
Chairs’ Association brunch on Aug. 13, 2025. (Capitol News Illinois
photo by Jerry Nowicki)
U.S. Rep. Sean Casten, a Democrat from Downers Grove, ripped Durbin and
the seven other Senate Democrats who sided with Republicans. He said on
social media that Democrats “trusting” Republicans on an ACA vote is
like “a liar convincing a sucker.”
“A sucker for believing the lie, and for believing (House Speaker Mike)
Johnson will ever bring it up in the House,” he wrote.
Candidates disagree with Durbin
The three leading Democrats running to replace Durbin are all opposed to
the plan to reopen the government.
“The Republican shutdown has caused immense suffering for Illinois
families, and that pain will be compounded exponentially because
Democrats let the GOP off the hook,” Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton said in a
statement. “While we all want to see food assistance fully funded and
federal workers paid and protected, healthcare for millions of Americans
cannot be the tradeoff. An empty promise is not enough.”
Stratton also publicly criticized Durbin’s vote in March.
Reps. Robin Kelly, of Lynwood, and Raja Krishnamoorthi, of Schaumburg,
said they will vote against the funding plan whenever it arrives in the
House.
“We will not cave to broken promises from Trump and the GOP who have
sold the American people a bill of goods on so many things, but
especially their access to quality healthcare,” Kelly said in a
statement.
Krishnamoorthi said his red line will continue to be whether ACA credits
are preserved.
“I lived through more than 50 attempts by Donald Trump in his first term
to repeal Obamacare and continued statements that he’s going to gut the
Affordable Care Act now,” Krishnamoorthi said in a video statement on
Monday. “So I cannot in good conscious believe that all of the sudden
he’s going to take actions right now to strengthen Obamacare.”
Bill signals end to flight delays, SNAP woes
Illinois has seen escalating impacts from the record government
shutdown.
About 2 million people have been stuck in limbo this month over whether
they will receive federal food benefits from SNAP. The U.S. Department
of Agriculture told states last month that they would not distribute
November SNAP benefits as the shutdown continued.
Whether USDA must use contingency funds to pay full benefits has been an
ongoing legal battle in the federal court system since Nov. 1.
Travelers through Chicago’s airports could also see some relief when the
government reopens. A growing number of air traffic controllers have
called out of work after not getting paid for the last month, leading
the Federal Aviation Administration last week to require airlines to
cancel flights at 40 airports, including O’Hare and Midway, because of
staffing shortages that cause delays to stack up.
O’Hare was one of the worst airports for delays on Sunday, according to
FlightAware, with 16% of departures canceled and 53% delayed.
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by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. |
