Durbin, Duckworth Meet With Federation Of Independent Illinois Colleges And Universities

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with the leadership and members of the Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities (FIICU), which represents 54 private non-profit colleges across Illinois. During their meeting, Durbin and Duckworth spoke about the Trump Administration’s continued attacks on higher education, including limitations on financial support for students and pushing policies that shut immigrants out of the American education system.

“One of the greatest gifts we can give the next generation is an education. But we’ve seen the Trump Administration, time and time again, roll back student protections and create new barriers to accessing education,” said Durbin. “Senator Duckworth and I today spoke with higher education leaders about fighting for accessible, affordable education.”

“Illinois is home to some of our country’s best universities,” Duckworth said. “As the Trump Administration continues to wage a nonsensical war against high quality, affordable education, doing everything they can to make it more difficult for students to have the financial support they need to earn a degree, I’m committed to working with our state’s colleges to make higher education accessible for all Illinoisans—no matter their income or zip code.

Universities represented at the meeting included:

• Aurora University
• DePaul University
• Eureka College
• Illinois College
• Quincy University
• Wheaton College
• Saint Xavier University
• Dominican University
• Lake Forest College
• Lewis University
• Loyola University Chicago
• Northwestern University
• Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science

More like this:

Durbin, Duckworth Meet With Illinois Community Colleges To Talk Job Training Programs

Feb 11, 2026

Duckworth, Durbin, Colleagues Release New DHS Data Revealing Trump Admin Targeting Veterans, Families for Deportation After Promising Protections

Mar 26, 2026

Duckworth Secures VA Commitment to Improve Maternal Health Care for Veterans

Today

Duckworth Grills Hegseth, Caine Over 'Lack Of Strategy' In Iran

Yesterday

Duckworth Hammers Trump Administration For Inflicting Lasting Trauma On Kids In Illinois, Across The Country During Violent Mass Deportation Campaign

Mar 19, 2026