• Office Sought: Senator, Illinois
• Birth Date: Nov. 21, 1944
• Occupation: Attorney
• Spouse: Loretta Schaefer
• Religion: Roman Catholic
• Web site: http://www.durbin.senate.gov

Education

• Georgetown University, BA
• Georgetown University, JD

Richard "Dick" Joseph Durbin was born and raised in East St. Louis, Ill., and resides in Springfield.

Durbin received a bachelor's degree in foreign service and economics in 1966 and a law degree in 1969 from Georgetown University. While at Georgetown, Durbin interned on the staff of his boyhood hero, Illinois Sen. Paul Douglas. But Douglas lost in 1966 to one of his own former students, Republican Charles H. Percy.

Durbin latched on with newly elected then-Lt. Gov. Paul Simon, another Douglas disciple. But his hopes were dashed when Simon lost the 1972 Democratic nomination for governor to Dan Walker in one of the state's most startling upsets.

Durbin ran unsuccessfully for state Senate in 1976 and lieutenant governor in 1978. He served as the parliamentarian of the Illinois Senate, 1969-82, and as legal counsel to Lt. Gov. Paul Simon, 1969-73.

He was elected to the U.S. House in 1982, serving until he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996. He was re-elected in 2002.

Durbin and his wife, Loretta Schaefer, have three children.