I had the chance Wednesday to ask Sen. Dick Durbin about chairing the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings that led to Ketanji Brown Jackson becoming the first Black woman confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Durbin fielded a few press questions when he visited Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox to discuss federal funding for a new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Durbin, 77, is an East St. Louis native who was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982. He has served in the Senate since 1997.
“That was the first time I’ve ever been chairman of a committee, ever, in Congress,” Durbin said.
His first chairmanship was a colossal responsibility.
“Filling a Supreme Court vacancy is our highest and most serious assignment,” he said.
Jackson, 51, graduated from Harvard Law School and has a distinguished record as an attorney and judge.
“I was honored to get to know her,” Durbin said. “She is extraordinary. If you’re going to be the first, you’ve got to be the best, and she is the best.”
Just as Barack Obama inspired many from the south suburbs and elsewhere by being elected the nation’s first Black president, Jackson’s historic appointment tapped into feelings about hope, promise and opportunity. But in an era of extreme partisanship, Durbin said he knew Jackson’s confirmation would not be easy.
“What I tried to do from the beginning was set a new tone, a bipartisan tone and approach to this,” he said. “A majority of Republican senators I think listened to that advice and followed it.”
When Mitch McConnell was Senate Majority Leader in 2016, he refused to allow consideration of Merrick Garland, Obama’s nominee to fill a vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. The Senate majority’s unprecedented refusal meant Garland’s nomination expired after 293 days.
There were explosive hearings before the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh that involved questions about alcohol use and allegations of sexual misconduct, which Kavanaugh denied.
Many conservatives felt as if Democrats tarnished Kavanaugh’s reputation. Some Republican senators seemed to see a chance to even the score during Jackson’s hearings.
Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Lee of Utah, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina were among the most outspoken critics of Jackson’s nomination. I asked Durbin about the conduct of particular senators during the hearings.
“I won’t name names, I never do,” he replied. “People can draw their own conclusions.”
Everyone in the world who watched the hearings witnessed appalling displays of incivility. Even other Republican senators were ashamed by the conduct, Durbin said.
“One of the Republican senators referred to the activity of his colleagues on the committee as flamboyant jackassery,” Durbin said. “I never heard that term before, but it certainly applied.”
Some GOP senators seemed to be trying to score favor with their party’s voting base by challenging a Black woman regardless of her qualifications and credentials. Jackson handled the attacks with grace and dignity.
“She was up to the challenge,” Durbin said. “She stood like a pillar and handled the questions in every aspect, I thought, with complete candor, honesty and effectiveness.”
Three Republican senators voted with Democrats April 7 to confirm Jackson’s historic appointment by a vote of 53-47. The bottom line is that when Justice Stephen Breyer retires in a couple months, Jackson will take his seat.
“The good news is she’s going to be on the Supreme Court, the first African American woman in the history of the United States,” Durbin said. “I’m proud to have played a role in that.”
Durbin, who is in his fifth Senate term, has been traveling Illinois this week to discuss federal funding for various projects. He said he and Sen. Tammy Duckworth secured $211 million in targeted federal spending for Illinois.
“It’s something that hasn’t been done in almost 10 years,” Durbin said. “It used to be called earmarks. It came down with a bad reputation and I always felt that was unfair.”
Elected officials know what the needs are in their districts and states, Durbin said.
“That’s why we’re having this news conference,” Durbin said. “There’s no secrecy involved. There’s total transparency.”
Silver Cross Hospital is getting $500,000 in f
ederal funding for the new $12.8 million Amy, Matthew and Jay Vana Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The facility is set to open this summer and will be the first and only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Will County, said Ruth Colby, Silver Cross president and CEO.
About 3,000 babies a year are born at the New Lenox hospital, and about 50 infants annually have had to be transferred to better equipped facilities in Chicago and elsewhere due to complications at birth. Last year, nearly 900 women in the United States died during childbirth, Durbin said.
“Tragically, the majority of those deaths were preventable,” he said. “Women of color were and are at greater risk. Black women are nearly three times as likely as white women to die as a result of pregnancy complications.”
Durbin said he supported legislation sponsored by Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Matteson, that addressed infant and maternal mortality rates. President Joe Biden recently signed into law the Mothers and Offspring Mortality and Morbidity Awareness, or MOMMA’s Act, Durbin said.
State funds are also supporting the new facility at Silver Cross, said state Sen. Michael Hastings, D-Frankfort.
“Silver Cross Hospital is the preeminent health care institution in the southwest suburbs,” Hastings said. “Whether you live in Will County or southwest Cook County, this is the place you want to go to get your health care.”
The 2022 Omnibus appropriations bill will fund other Southland projects as part of the $211 million in federal dollars headed for Illinois. The SouthCom Combined Dispatch Center in Matteson will get $276,000 to improve communications systems used by firefighters and paramedics. The city of Harvey is set to receive $3.5 million for water and sewer system improvements.
Funding addresses a variety of needs and services, including crime prevention, infrastructure, environmental concerns and workforce training initiatives. Some funds are earmarked to address shortages of nurses and teachers, while other dollars will be used to provide meals for senior citizens.
Ted Slowik is a columnist with the Daily Southtown.
