Pritzker disagrees with Durbin on vote to end shutdown
[November 13, 2025]
By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker says he is disappointed that
Illinois U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin voted in favor of ending the partial
shutdown of the federal government.
Durbin joined seven other Democrats in voting with Republican senators
to send government funding legislation to the U.S. House.
“Many of my friends are unhappy. They think we should have kept our
government closed indefinitely to protest the policies of the Trump
administration. I share their opinions of this administration but cannot
accept a strategy which wages political battle at the expense of my
neighbor’s paycheck or the food for his children,” Durbin said on the
Senate floor this week.
Pritzker spoke in Chicago Tuesday and said he disagreed with Durbin’s
vote.
“I do not think that the eight members of the Senate that voted the way
that they did should have done that. I think that we had an opportunity
to make sure that we were protecting people’s healthcare across the
nation,” Pritzker said.
Illinois’ junior U.S. senator, Tammy Duckworth, voted against ending the
shutdown.
Duckworth said the agreement would not protect American families from
what she called President Donald Trump’s “vindictive efforts” in
exchange for a vague promise.
Illinois U.S. Senate candidate Don Tracy responded to the criticism
Durbin faced from his fellow Democrats.
“As a Republican, I am not a fan of Dick Durbin’s politics. But when
someone gets it right, you have to give credit where it’s due. And on
his vote to end the Democrat filibuster and reopen the government,
Senator Durbin did the right thing,” Tracy said in a statement.
The aviation industry may feel the effects of the partial shutdown long
after lawmakers come to an agreement.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy visited Chicago’s O’Hare
International Airport Tuesday.
Duffy said O’Hare has a shortage of air traffic controllers.
[to top of second column]
|
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., delivers remarks during the Memorial Day
Wreath Laying Ceremony at Daley Plaza in Chicago, May 24, 2025.
Photo: 2nd Lt. Trenton Fouche / Illinois National Guard photo via
DVIDS / Public Domain
“Young men and women, some of the brightest in the country, have to
come into this profession. This shutdown is going to make that more
challenging, more difficult for us to accomplish this goal,” Duffy
said.
Duffy said 15 to 20 air traffic controllers are now retiring every
day across the country.
“Long after you all finish covering the shutdown, we are going to be
stuck dealing with this problem where we’re about 2,000 controllers
short, trying to make up that difference. We’re going to do it.
We’re going to work on it, but that has been a problem of the
shutdown,” the secretary said.
Duffy thanked airport technicians in addition to air traffic
controllers who have been coming to work without pay, calling them
“patriots.”
Duffy said he would only roll back flight cancellations when data
shows it is safe to do so.
“We have seen incursions on runways. We’ve seen loss of separation
in the airspace, and we’ve seen heightened complaints by pilots of
the communication they’re having with air traffic controllers,”
Duffy said
The secretary said there have not been near misses reported, but he
said safety is his first priority.
Duffy said if the government doesn’t open this week, Americans would
see massive disruptions this weekend. He also said airlines could
choose to stop flying.
Thérèse Boudreaux contributed to this story.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
