About Dick Durbin
Richard Joseph Durbin (born November 21, 1944) is an American politician and attorney 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 since 2005 as the Senate Democratic Whip (the second-highest position in Democratic leadership in the Senate) and since 2025 as the Senate minority whip. He is the longest-serving Democratic whip since the position was established in 1913. Durbin was born in East St. Louis, Illinois. After graduating from the School of Foreign Service and Georgetown University Law Center, he worked in state legal counsel throughout the 1970s. Durbin made an unsuccessful run for lieutenant governor of Illinois in 1978, and later maintained a private law practice and co-owned a pub in Springfield. Durbin was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982, representing the Springfield-based 20th congressional district. After serving seven House terms, Durbin was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996, and reelected in 2002, 2008, 2014, and 2020. He has served as the Senate Democratic whip since 2005—under Harry Reid until 2017, and under Chuck Schumer since 2017. During that time, he had two periods as Senate majority whip (from 2007 to 2015 and from 2021 to 2025), and three as minority whip (from 2005 to 2007, from 2015 to 2021, and since 2025). He became the oldest serving Democratic senator upon the death of Dianne Feinstein in 2023. As of 2024, Durbin is the longest-serving Senate party whip in U.S. history. Durbin chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee from 2021 to 2025. He also led the Ketanji Brown Jackson Supreme Court nomination hearings and is the dean of Illinois's congressional delegation. On April 23, 2025, he announced that he would not seek reelection in 2026. A member of the Democratic Party, Durbin is in his fifth Senate term and has served since 2005 as the Senate Democratic Whip (the second-highest position in the Democratic leadership in the Senate) and since 2025 as the Senate minority whip.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.