Richard Joseph Durbin, born on November 21, 1944, is an American lawyer and politician who has been serving as the senior United States senator from Illinois since 1997.
As a member of the Democratic Party, Durbin has held his Senate seat for five terms and has occupied various leadership positions, including Senate Democratic whip since 2005 and Senate majority whip since 2021. He is also the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and led the Ketanji Brown Jackson Supreme Court nomination hearings.
Durbin's journey began in East St. Louis, Illinois, where he was born. He went on to graduate from the School of Foreign Service and the Georgetown University Law Center. Throughout the 1970s, he worked as a state legal counsel, and in 1978, he made an unsuccessful bid for lieutenant governor of Illinois.
Durbin's political career gained momentum in 1982 when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the Springfield-based 20th congressional district. He served seven terms in the House before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996 and subsequently reelected in 2002, 2008, 2014, and 2020.
Throughout his Senate tenure, Durbin has held various leadership positions, including Senate Democratic whip since 2005, under Harry Reid until 2017, and under Chuck Schumer since 2017. He has also had two stints as Senate majority whip, from 2007 to 2015, and since 2021, as well as two stints as minority whip, from 2005 to 2007 and from 2015 to 2021.
Durbin is the dean of Illinois's congressional delegation, and his dedication to public service has been unwavering throughout his career.
