Endorsed 
Progressive champion Senator Dick Durbin has represented Illinois in the Senate since 1997. He has served as the Senate Democratic whip since 2005 (the second-highest position in the Democratic leadership in the Senate) and as the Senate majority whip since 2021.
Durbin earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1969 and was admitted to the Illinois bar later that year. After graduating from law school, Durbin started a law practice in Springfield. He was legal counsel to Lieutenant Governor Paul Simon from 1969 to 1972, and then legal counsel to the Illinois State Senate Judiciary Committee from 1972 to 1982. He served in the US House from 1983 until 1997.
During his time in the Senate, he has pushed for criminal justice reform, human rights at home and abroad, and universal access to child care.
