Advisory Board of Governors
U.S. Senator Richard J. Durbin
Senator Durbin, a Democrat from Springfield, is the 47th U.S. Senator from the State of Illinois and the first Illinois senator to serve on the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee in more than a quarter of a century. He is the state’s senior senator and convenor of the bipartisan Illinois delegation.
Senator Durbin was born in Illinois and graduated from Assumption High School in East St. Louis. Senator Durbin received his B.S. from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in 1966. During his senior year of college he was an intern in the office of Illinois Senator Paul Douglas. Senator Durbin received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center 1969 and was admitted to the Illinois bar that same year. He commenced practice in Springfield as legal counsel to Illinois Lieutenant Governor Paul Simon from 1969 to 1972. He also served as legal counsel, Illinois State senate judiciary committee from 1972 to 1982.
Senator Durbin was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor of Illinois in 1978. He also served as associate professor at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. Senator Durbin was a delegate at the Democratic National Conventions 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1996 and was the chairman of Illinois state delegation in 1996. Senator Durbin was elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-eighth and to the six succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1983-January 2, 1997); elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate in 1996 and reelected in 2002.
In 2001, Senator Durbin was appointed to the Senate’s leadership team, Assistant Democratic Floor Leader. In 2000, Durbin served as Co-Chairman of the Democratic Platform Committee and also was Co-Chairman of the Atlantic Conference sponsored by the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations. He is a founding member of the Senate Global AIDS Caucus.
Senator Dick Durbin was elected by his fellow Democratic senators in December 2006 to the post of Assistant Majority Leader, also known as Majority Whip. It is the Senate's second highest ranking position. In 2004, Durbin was elected as Minority Whip.
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