Richard Joseph Durbin
Democrat senior Senator of Illinois
Representative
Illinois, district 20
January 3, 1983 - January 3, 1985
Representative
Illinois, district 20
January 3, 1985 - January 3, 1987
Representative
Illinois, district 20
January 6, 1987 - January 3, 1989
Representative
Illinois, district 20
January 3, 1989 - January 3, 1991
Representative
Illinois, district 20
January 3, 1991 - January 3, 1993
Representative
Illinois, district 20
January 5, 1993 - January 3, 1995
Representative
Illinois, district 20
January 4, 1995 - January 3, 1997
Senator
Illinois
January 7, 1997 - January 3, 2003
Senator
Illinois
January 7, 2003 - January 3, 2009
Senator
Illinois
January 6, 2009 - January 3, 2015
Senator
Illinois
January 6, 2015 - January 3, 2021
Senator
Illinois
January 3, 2021 - January 3, 2027
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