Longtime U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, announced he will retire after his term ends in January 2027.
“I truly love the job of being United States Senator, but in my heart, I know it’s time to pass the torch,” Durbin said in a social media video.
Durbin’s retirement will end a 44-year congressional career. The East St. Louis native who has lived in Springfield for the last five decades was first elected to the U.S. House in 1982.
Durbin, 80, won election to the U.S. Senate in 1996 to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Paul Simon, to whom Durbin served as legal counsel in the early 1970s when Simon was the state’s lieutenant governor. Durbin has since risen through the ranks of the Senate, chairing the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee and now serving as the No. 2 ranking Democrat in the Senate as minority whip.
“The people of Illinois have honored me with this responsibility longer than anyone elected to the Senate in our state’s history. I’m truly grateful,” Durbin said in the video.
Durbin had kept decisions about his political future a closely guarded secret, telling reporters as recently as last week that he had not made any decisions about his future.
Durbin said at a news conference in downstate Taylorville last month that “whether I’m still physically able, mentally able to deal with the issues,” were the top factors guiding his decision. At the time, he suggested he was. Durbin would be 88 years old at the end of another six-year term.
Even as he privately weighed his political future, Durbin maintained a vigorous travel schedule throughout the state to highlight impacts of President Donald Trump’s policies on the state of Illinois.
“The threats to our democracy and 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 said.
Under Durbin’s leadership, the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmed 235 federal judges, including Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. As ranking minority member on the committee, he was also a leading voice opposing three Supreme Court justices nominated during the first Trump administration.
Durbin also carries a long list of legislative accomplishments. As a member of the House, he led legislation signed into law in 1988 banning smoking on some commercial flights. From that point on, Durbin was a leading voice behind legislation regulating smoking in the U.S.
In recent years, Durbin used his position as Judiciary Committee chair to push for legislation to lower prescription drug costs and regulate pharmacy benefit managers, as well as plans to crack down on fees charged by credit card companies.
As the Democratic whip in the Senate since 2005, Durbin played a role in shepherding major bills supported by Democrats through the chamber.
He has also staked out more controversial positions during his career. During his first term in the House, Durbin supported anti-abortion legislation but reversed his position in support of the practice for the remainder of his career. He was also one of just a handful of senators who originally opposed the war in Iraq.
More recently, in March, Durbin voted for a spending plan to keep the government open through September, which angered many Democrats who thought Senate Democrats should force a government shutdown as a roadblock to Trump’s agenda.
Read more: Durbin, Pritzker put pressure on Republicans to oppose cuts to key programs
Durbin was also instrumental in advancing the political careers of several Illinois Democrats, including pushing another Illinois senator, Barack Obama, to run for president.
“Dick Durbin has always fought the good fight on behalf of working families, and his integrity shines through in everything he does,” Obama said in a statement. “It’s also true that I would not have been a United States Senator – and certainly would not have been President – had it not been for Dick’s support.”
With Durbin stepping aside in 2027, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Hoffman Estates Democrat, will become Illinois’ senior senator. In a statement, Duckworth recalled the first time she met Durbin just weeks after the Black Hawk helicopter she was piloting in Iraq was shot down, resulting in amputation of both her legs.
“It is only because of Dick’s empathy, patience, support and mentorship that I am in the United States Senate today,” Duckworth said in a statement. “It has been the honor of a lifetime to get to work alongside a leader who embodies what it means to be a true public servant.”
Who will fill Durbin’s seat
His retirement is expected to set off a flurry of moves by some of the state’s top Democrats who are widely believed to be interested in the seat, including Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Lauren Underwood and Robin Kelly.
“We are also fortunate to have a strong Democratic bench ready to serve,” Durbin said. “We need them now more than ever.”
Stratton has worked to boost her political profile in recent months, including by creating a federal political action committee that could serve as a fundraising springboard for a Senate campaign. Krishnamoorthi, Underwood and Kelly have also been working to boost their profile throughout the state with town halls and other events outside their Chicago area districts.
A poll conducted last month by 314 Action Fund – a national Democratic organization that supports candidates with a science or medical background – showed Underwood and Krishnamoorthi would both receive at least 30% of the vote in a hypothetical Democratic primary including Kelly and Stratton.
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Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement that Durbin has been “a consistent leader and reliable champion” for Illinois. Pritzker and Durbin occasionally found themselves in a power struggle in the state Democratic Party in recent years during votes for party leadership. In 2022, Durbin supported Kelly for party chair, while Pritzker supported Rep. Lisa Herandez, D-Cicero, who ultimately prevailed in ousting Kelly, who had been elected to succeed former party chair Michael Madigan over Pritzker’s preferred candidate less than two years earlier.
Read more: Democratic Party chair bows out in re-election bid, paving way for state Rep. Lisa Hernandez
“The people of Illinois should take great pride having a leader like Dick Durbin represent us in the U.S. Senate,” Pritzker said. “I have been proud to be his partner and am even more proud to call him my friend. He will leave some extraordinary shoes to fill – and has given us all an example of courage and righteousness for the work ahead.”
At an unrelated news conference in Decatur Wednesday, Pritzker declined to say if he was interested in the seat himself or if there’s a candidate he’s planning to endorse.
Who will emerge on the Republican side as a viable candidate is less clear.
“Illinois families have a long-overdue chance to turn the page and elect a leader who will fight for lower taxes, less government spending, true support for Israel and our national and economic security,” Illinois GOP Chair Kathy Salvi said in a statement.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
