Dick Durbin

Dick Durbin

Richard Joseph "Dick" Durbin (born November 21, 1944 in East St. Louis , Illinois ) is an American politician of the Democratic Party . He represents the state of Illinois in the US Senate , where he is Deputy Group Chairman ( Whip ) of the Democrats.

Early life

In 1962 Durbin graduated from the Roman Catholic Assumption High School in East St. Louis. He then studied at Georgetown University , where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1966 . During the final year of his undergraduate degree, he interned in the office of Senator Paul Howard Douglas of Illinois. He then studied law - also at Georgetown University - and graduated in 1969 the same year he was admitted to the bar. In the 1970s, Durbin was legal advisor to the Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, later US Senator Paul M. Simon . Durbin was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1982 , to which he was a member until 1997, the year he was elected to the Senate.

Career in the US Senate

Durbin in August 2008 on the sidelines of a Barack Obama and Joe Biden campaign event in Springfield, Illinois

As chairman of the Illinois delegation to the US House of Representatives, Durbin was chosen as the Democratic Party candidate to succeed the then incumbent Senator Paul Simon, whom Durbin saw as a mentor. He won the Senate election in November 1996, as well as his re-elections in 2002 and 2008.

Among other things, Durbin sits on the powerful investment committee . Within the senators he tends to be on the left in terms of his voting behavior. He is involved in asbestos regulation and environmental protection , including in particular the protection of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge . Along with Senators Patrick Leahy and Charles Schumer , he is known for his work in interviewing candidates for judicial offices on the Judicial Committee. He also works to prevent military bases in Illinois from being closed.

In the Senate elections on November 4, 2014 , Durbin ran for another term. In the election he was able to beat State Senator Jim Oberweis with 53 percent of the vote, for whom 43 percent of voters were in favor. His current term of office runs until January 3, 2021.

Web links

Commons : Dick Durbin  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Homepage of Senator Durbin
• Dick Durbin in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• 2004 campaign funding data
• A Durbin friendly report from The Nation magazine

Remarks

1. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated November 25, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.