Richard J. Durbin

Richard J. Durbin, born in 1944, Democratic member of the United States Senate from Illinois (1997- ). Durbin was born in East Saint Louis, Illinois. He was educated at Georgetown University, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1966 and a law degree in 1969. He worked as an aide to Illinois’s then-lieutenant governor, Paul Simon, from 1969 to 1972. From 1972 to 1982, Durbin served as the legal counsel for the Judiciary Committee in the Illinois State Senate. He ran for state senator in 1976 and lieutenant governor in 1978, but lost both times. In 1982 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and was reelected by wide margins in subsequent elections. He ran for and was elected to the Senate in 1996. He was reelected in subsequent elections. In 2006, when the Democrats captured control of the U.S. Senate, Durbin was named the Senate majority whip.