Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin announced Wednesday morning he is retiring and will not run for reelection in 2026.
In a video posted to X, Durbin said, “I truly love the job of being a United State senator, but in my heart I know it is time to pass the torch. So, I am announcing today I will not be seeking reelection at the end of my term.”
Durbin, who is 80, expressed his gratitude to the people of Illinois for electing him to the Senate for longer than anyone else in state history, and said he was honored by the responsibility bestowed on him.
“Right now the challenges facing our country are historic and unprecedented,” he continued. “The threats to our democracy and our way of life are very real, and I can assure you, I’ll do everything in my power to fight for Illinois and the future of our country every day of my remaining time in the Senate.”
Durbin called his fellow Illinois senator Tammy Duckworth a “trusted friend and effective leader,” and said she will be a “real asset” to the state and the nation as Illinois’ next senior senator.
Durbin is the senior senator for Illinois. He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996, filling the seat left vacant by longtime Sen. Paul Simon.
He also serves at the Senate Democratic Whip, the second-highest ranking position for the party in the Senate. He was first elected to this leadership post by Senate Democrats in 2005, and has been reelected to it every two years since.
Durbin is the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He also serves on the Appropriations Committee and the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.
He introduced the Dream Act, which would give undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and grew up here a path to citizenship, in 2001 alongside Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). He was also a force behind the establishment of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival Program, or DACA, created by President Barack Obama in 2012.
He also championed the First Step Act, which was signed into law by President Trump in 2018, a bipartisan criminal justice bill that reformed sentencing laws and provided more opportunities for incarcerated people to re-enter society upon their release.
Durbin and his wife Loretta Schaefer Durbin live in Springfield, Illinois. He has three children – Paul, Jennifer and Christine, his oldest daughter who died in 2008 from complications from a congenital heart condition.
