[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 22 (Thursday, February 15, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S1522]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. Fitzgerald):
  S. 378. A bill to redesignate the Federal building located at 3348 
South Kedzie Avenue, in Chicago, Illinois, as the ``Paul Simon Chicago 
Job Corps Center''; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today Senator Fitzgerald and I are 
introducing legislation naming the Job Corps Center in Chicago, 
Illinois, for our former colleague, Senator Paul Simon.
  During his 12 years in the Senate, Paul Simon was a stalwart champion 
of the Job Corps program and the work it does in connecting 
disadvantaged young people to the job market. He led the fight for the 
job corps as chairman of the authorizing subcommittee of jurisdiction 
and also through requests to the Senate Appropriations Committee. 
During most of this time, Chicago was the last remaining large city 
without a Job Corps center, despite the community's strong interest in 
the program. Securing a charter for a Job Corps center in Chicago was 
one of Paul Simon's top priorities in the latter half of his service in 
the Senate.
  Working within the established process for establishing new centers, 
Paul Simon pressed ahead with Illinois allies like former U.S. 
Representative John Porter, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, and the Job 
Corps community to ensure that Chicago's application met all program 
specifications and that the funds for expansion would be there when 
Chicago's charter was approved. These years of effort succeeded in 
meeting that goal. Eventually funds were appropriated for expansion of 
the Job Corps program, and Chicago's Job Corps center now is open and 
serving the Chicago community and, most importantly, its young people.
  Naming the Chicago Job Corps Center for Paul Simon would be 
especially fitting for three reasons: Job training and employment 
policy are central elements of the legacy of his service in Congress; 
he has long been recognized as a diligent and effective champion of the 
Job Corps' mission; and he spent years to fulfill the goal of opening a 
Job Corps center in Chicago. Other centers in the Job Corps network 
have been named for individuals, and this designation would be 
particularly fitting for the Chicago center, a facility Paul Simon 
worked tirelessly to create.
  Paul Simon was clearly one of the Senate's most respected voices. 
This legislation would honor his service and his commitment to youth 
and job training. It is a small but very appropriate way to recognize 
his leadership. I invite my colleagues to join Senator Fitzgerald and 
me in honoring Senator Paul Simon through this legislation.
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