Durbin pledges support for West Central Illinois Patrick Stout, Voice Correspondent MACOMB — U.S. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Senate Majority Whip, met Wednesday with 46 members of the Macomb Area Chamber of Commerce via ZOOM from his office in Chicago. He said that he would later be traveling to Springfield and then to Bloomington to tour the former Mitsubishi plant. Durbin said the Biden administration's American Rescue Plan would deliver $13.7 billion in state and local dollars, with $5.7 million going to McDonough County. "I think we're on the road to being back in business," he said. Brad Bainter of Western Illinois University told Durbin that rural poverty has now surpassed urban poverty in Illinois. He said more money is needed for four-year colleges and universities, especially if President Joe Biden succeeds in making community colleges tuition-free.