By Patrick Baron
BLOOMINGTON – US Senator Dick Durbin answered public questions during a town hall meeting Friday night.
In Illinois Wesleyan’s Westbrook Auditorium, people from Bloomington, Normal, Carlock, Champaign-Urbana and other central Illinois towns attended to ask Durbin questions weighing on their minds.
Durbin’s primary focus was on healthcare. He explained two main changes he would like to see made to the Affordable Care Act.
“If I sat down I’ll tell you what I’d put down on the table as a Democrat – I know the Republicans would put some things up as well – two things I’d put on the table,” Durbin said. “The first thing is a public option.”
During the meeting, Durbin asserted that “healthcare is not a privilege, it’s a right.” The second change Durbin suggested to the Affordable Care Act was increased regulations for pharmaceutical companies.
“The pharmaceutical industry played us like a fiddle when we passed the Affordable Care Act and made sure there was little to no regulation of their industry,” Durbin explained. “The net result of it is pharmaceutical prices are out of control.”
Durbin also answered quesitons regarding immigration, education, gun violence in Chicago, gender equality, and how people can be active in their communities.
Patrick Baron can be reached at [email protected].
