Durbin Urges GSA Administrator To Finally Address Critical Building Repairs Desperately Needed At Federal Courthouses In Chicago

Durbin Urges GSA Administrator To Finally Address Critical Building Repairs Desperately Needed At Federal Courthouses In Chicago

In today's Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, Durbin also urged GSA Administrator Forst to look into converting unused federal buildings into housing units

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today participated in an Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee hearing on the President's Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Budget Request for the General Services Administration (GSA). During his questioning, Durbin emphasized the need to swiftly address infrastructure and deferred maintenance issues at federal buildings in Illinois, including the Everett McKinley Dirksen U.S. Courthouse and the Stanley J. Roszkowski U.S. Courthouse, both of which are in the Northern District of Illinois (NDIL).

Durbin urged GSA Administrator Edward Forst, who testified at today's hearing, to finally carry out the necessary repairs that the federal court buildings in Chicago desperately need. Last month, Durbin and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) wrote to Administrator Forst, calling on GSA to address its massive deferred maintenance backlog, specifically projects across the NDIL, such as repairs to the magistrate courtroom and chambers of an NDIL Magistrate Judge in the Dirksen Courthouse, where flooding caused a ceiling collapse; replacing lighting fixtures in four courtrooms in the Dirksen Courthouse, where burned-out fixtures cannot be replaced due to unavailable bulbs; beginning the courthouse lobby hardening project to improve security at the Dirksen Courthouse, which was identified as the most important courthouse hardening project in the country following civil unrest; and finishing lighting repairs throughout the Roszkowski Courthouse.

"I joined with Senator Duckworth in sending you a letter about the Northern District of Illinois and the buildings they occupy in the judiciary there," Durbin said. "It is not as safe as it should be. The courts have been petitioning GSA, and [it's] going nowhere."

Urging Administrator Forst to prioritize critical building repairs that are needed to keep federal employees safe over slashing GSA staffing numbers and selling off buildings, Durbin asked: "So you are reducing personnel, reducing inventory of space, and the people that desperately need your attention cannot get your attention or get the resources they need to repair. Is it time we start thinking about restructuring [the priorities of ] your agency in terms of its responsibility, particularly when it comes to security?"

Administrator Forst replied that security and safety is a priority for GSA. He committed to investigating the necessary repairs at the NDIL courthouses and replying to the Senators' letter.

Durbin then spoke to Administrator Forst about what actions GSA could take to convert former government buildings into housing units. Under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, federal agencies can make underutilized properties owned by the federal government available for housing or housing assistance purposes.

"Is there any way we can get those [homeless assistance organizations and local governments] who convert office buildings into residential to take a look at some of the buildings in your inventory? I spoke to a developer in Chicago who is a close friend, and he said we desperately need housing. What is the prospect of converting a building?... I take it from your reaction we really have not explored that in any specific case yet, have we?" Durbin asked.

Administrator Forst said that while he has not explored that during his tenure at GSA, he would be open to meeting with developers about converting unused buildings.

Video of Durbin's questions in Committee is available here.

Audio of Durbin's questions in Committee is available here.

Footage of Durbin's question in Committee is available here for TV stations.

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