Durbin on Illinois' fight against COVID-19: 'Profits be damned!'

CHICAGO - Illinois' senior senator is offering an inside glimpse of the state's desperate effort to fight COVID-19.

Senator Dick Durbin, who speaks often with Governor JB Pritzker, told cable TV an infuriating anecdote about Illinois’ battle to obtain medical supplies.

“Our governor was telling' me about a producer in our state who has this equipment…he's looking for a better price in another state. Let's be honest about it. And that, to me, is outrageous. This is as bad as any profiteering during a war!” Durbin told MSNBC. “Profits be damned! The American people need to survive!”

Durbin once again urged President Donald Trump to reduce such behavior by using his emergency powers to make the federal government coordinate purchases related to the life-and-death fight against the coronavirus.

Durbin said states like Illinois should also be able to rely on federal resources to ship desperately needed personal protective equipment the state manages to purchase from producers in foreign countries such as China.

“PPE from China. They couldn't get flights out, cargo flights out. You know, I’ve got a talented governor here. He knows big business. But to think this is his responsibility, to airlift what should have been in our national stockpile is incredible at this moment,” Durbin said.

So, which Illinois company is the alleged coronavirus profiteer? Durbin did not offer a name. And a spokeswoman for Pritzker said the governor would not either.

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