Richard Joseph Durbin

Democrat senior Senator of Illinois

  • Senator

    Illinois

    January 3, 2021 - January 3, 2027

202-224-2152

@SenatorDurbin

durbin.senate.gov

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21

Congresses Served

7

House Terms

5

Senate Terms

January 1, 1944 (80 years old)

Birthday

  • Serving as the senior United States senator from Illinois since 1997
  • Member of the Democratic Party
  • Served as the Senate Democratic whip since 2005, holding the position of Senate majority whip since 2021
  • Chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee and led the Ketanji Brown Jackson Supreme Court nomination hearings
  • Born in East St. Louis, Illinois
  • Graduated from the School of Foreign Service and the Georgetown University Law Center
  • Worked in state legal counsel throughout the 1970s and made an unsuccessful run for lieutenant governor of Illinois in 1978
  • Maintained a private law practice and co-owned a pub in Springfield
  • Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982, representing the Springfield-based 20th congressional district for seven terms before his Senate career
  • Has served under Senate Democratic leaders Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer
  • Longest-serving Senate party whip in U.S. history as of 2024
  • Dean of Illinois’s congressional delegation
  • Involved in various committee assignments and caucus memberships, including the Bi-Cameral High-Speed & Intercity Passenger Rail Caucus and the Senate Diabetes Caucus
  • Known for his political positions on social issues, criminal justice reform, gun control, HIV/AIDS, immigration, tobacco regulation, and freedom of expression
  • Has a history of advocating for child care, financial crisis management, trade, environmental protection, and transportation
  • Involved in foreign and military policy discussions, including positions on China, Darfur, Myanmar, Guantanamo Bay, and the impeachment trials of Bill Clinton and Donald Trump
  • Voted to approve the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists, granting broad military powers for the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and later military interventions
  • Opposed the Iraq War, voting against the joint resolution authorizing the Iraq War
  • Spearheaded a nonbinding resolution warning against allowing the Russian government to question U.S. diplomats and other officials
  • Criticized for attempting to remove PAC radio advertisements and for conflict of interest issues related to his wife’s lobbying activities
  • Roman Catholic, barred from receiving communion in the Springfield Diocese due to his voting record on abortion
  • Involved in film and television appearances, including documentaries on political and social issues