Pritzker disagrees with Durbin on vote to end shutdown

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
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.

“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.