WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has received $14.6 million in federal funding and the Chicago Department of Public Health received $8.7 million in federal funding in order to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, including funding for patient monitoring, lab testing, acquisition of test kits and protective equipment, and research into vaccines and therapeutics. This federal funding was approved as part of the bipartisan coronavirus emergency response supplemental funding bill that passed the Senate two weeks ago, which was supported by both Durbin and Duckworth.
“We are in the midst of a public health pandemic, and it is imperative that the federal government work in tandem with our partners at the state and local level who are on the frontlines. This federal funding with help reimburse the State of Illinois and cities like Chicago for costs incurred responding to the coronavirus pandemic, but more must be done,” Durbin said. “Senator Duckworth and I will continue to do everything we can at the federal level to secure resources and funding to combat the spread of this virus.”
“Our nation’s health care system and state and local health departments are on the front lines as we work to defend Americans from COVID-19, and this funding will be critical in providing them with the resources they need to help mitigate the spread of this epidemic,” said Duckworth. “Keeping Illinoisans healthy and minimizing the impact of COVID-19 is vitally important right now, and I’ll keep working with Senator Durbin to help secure more federal resources and funding to limit the spread the virus causing this disease.”
Last week, Durbin and Duckworth supported Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s state of emergency declaration in response to the coronavirus outbreak. On Thursday, they urged President Trump to immediately consider any disaster declarations so states can utilize the $42.6 billion currently available in the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) in their efforts to mitigate the spread of coronavirus and protect public health. On Friday, President Trump issued a federal Emergency Declaration (ED) due to the coronavirus pandemic, which invokes the Stafford Act so states can utilize the DRF funds.
