Dick Durbin, American lawyer and politician
Richard Joseph Durbin (born November 21, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the senior United States senator from Illinois, a seat he has held since 1997. He has been Senate Democratic whip since 2005, the second-highest position in the Democratic leadership in the Senate, and Senate majority whip since 2021. He chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. Durbin led the U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Durbin was born in East St. Louis, Illinois. He graduated from the School of Foreign Service and 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 U.S. House of Representatives in 1982, representing the Springfield-based 20th congressional district. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996 and reelected in 2002, 2008, 2014, and 2020. Durbin has served as the Senate Democratic whip since 2005, from 2007 to 2015, and in the 117th Congress serves as the Senate majority whip. He is the dean of Illinois's congressional delegation.