Dick Durbin

Richard Joseph Durbin born November 21 1944 is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Illinois a seat he has held since 1997 A member of the Democratic Party Durbin is in his fifth Senate term and has served as the Senate Democratic whip since 2005 the secondhighest position in the Democratic leadership in the Senate and as the Senate majority whip since 2021 He chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee and led the Ketanji Brown Jackson Supreme Court nomination hearings Durbin was born in East St Louis Illinois He graduated from the School of Foreign Service and the Georgetown University Law Center Working in state legal counsel throughout the 1970s he made an unsuccessful run for lieutenant governor of Illinois in 1978 Durbin was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1982 representing the Springfieldbased 20th congressional district After serving seven House terms Durbin was elected to the US Senate in 1996 and reelected in 2002 2008 2014 and 2020 He has served as the Senate Democratic whip since 2005under Harry Reid until 2017 and under Chuck Schumer since 2017 During that time he had two stints as Senate majority whip from 2007 to 2015 and since 2021 and two as minority whip from 2005 to 2007 and from 2015 to 2021 He is the dean of Illinoiss congressional delegation