U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Gov. Pat Quinn and Thomson Mayor Jerry "Duke" Hebeler to announce President Obama's decision to move forward with the purchase of the Thomson Correctional Center in Carroll County on Tuesday, October 2. Durbin has been working with the Obama Administration, the State of Illinois and the Village of Thomson since May 2009 on a plan to sell the vacant prison to the federal government in order to create jobs and stimulate economic activity in Northwest Illinois.
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today came to the floor of the United State Senate today to express disappointment that the House of Representatives has not considered or passed a full five-year Farm Bill. Although the current Farm Bill expires on September 30, Speaker of the House John Boehner announced yesterday that the House of Representatives would recess until November without voting on their own Farm Bill and without calling the Senate bill to a vote.