Skip to main content

Politicians make promises on their stump — we watch and hold them accountable.

Help keep the record honest →Create an account
Fully KeptCriminal justice reform / sentencing

After the EQUAL Act compromise (to eliminate the federal crack-vs-powder cocaine sentencing disparity) was left out of the 2022 omnibus, Durbin committed to keep advocating for it: "I will continue to work with Senator Booker in advocating for this historic legislation—legislation that will help reform our criminal justice system to better live up to the ideals of true justice and equality under the law."

Sources (click to view full provenance)

Propose an edit to this promise's details

Suggest a sourced correction to the promise text, topic, scope, significance, or dates. Changing the promise text requires a source. Your suggestion is reviewed before it changes the record.

Sign in and complete the Contributor Agreement to propose an edit.

Assessments

evidence-backed verdicts

These are sourced verdicts from fact-checkers or community evidence reviews — not opinions.

Fully KeptFact-checker reviewConfidence: 90%

The promise was Durbin's commitment (2022-12-20, after the EQUAL Act was left out of the 2022 omnibus) to "continue to work with Senator Booker in advocating for this historic legislation." Two primary sources verify he did exactly that: on Feb 16, 2023 (announced Feb 17/21, 2023) Durbin joined Booker (with Reps. Armstrong and Jeffries) to reintroduce the bipartisan EQUAL Act in the 118th Congress. The Durbin press release loaded and confirms the reintroduction with the verbatim quote "I'm joining Senator Booker in introducing the EQUAL Act to get rid of this discriminatory sentencing disparity for good." The Booker press release loaded and confirms Booker and Durbin (Senate Judiciary Chair) announced the reintroduction of the EQUAL Act to eliminate the crack/powder disparity. The Congress.gov S.524 page returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch (a bot block, not a dead link), but its cited title "S.524 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): EQUAL Act" is corroborated verbatim by search results, which also confirm Booker as sponsor and Durbin as an original cosponsor. This is a concrete legislative fulfillment of the pledged continued advocacy. FULL — not CHAMPIONED — is correct because Booker was the primary sponsor and Durbin an original cosponsor/co-lead; the promise was specifically the collaborative advocacy with Booker, which he delivered. The bill did not become law in the 118th Congress, but the promise was to keep advocating, not to secure enactment.

Your opinion on this assessment(clearly labeled opinion)

Sign in to vote.

Discussion

community opinions

Comments are user opinions — not verdicts. They do not affect the official assessment.

Sign in to join the discussion.

Propose a correction

community accountability

See an error in the promise text, status, significance, or missing source? Submit a sourced correction — a reviewer will evaluate and apply it if accurate. Your submission must cite evidence; unsourced changes are not accepted.

Sign in or create an account to propose a correction.

Debate

sourced community arguments

These are sourced community arguments — not StumpWatch assessments. Each cites a source and is community-contributed; it does not change the official status or rating above.

No arguments yet

Be the first to weigh in. Every argument cites a source and is reviewed before it publishes. Create an account to add one and help keep this promise honest.

Add a sourced argument

Cite a source for your point. Submissions are held for reviewer approval before they appear.

Sign in or create an account to add an argument.

StumpWatch is live, and the record is still growing. Many promises and positions aren’t tracked yet, and some features are still in beta. Add a sourced promise and help keep the record honest.

Help keep the record honest →