SPRINGFIELD – A room full of Illinois lawmakers honored its outgoing senior U.S. Senator with memories, stories of mentorship, leadership and integrity.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, then spoke before the group to reflect on his 44 years in Congress, in a rare joint session of chambers before the General Assembly concludes its spring session.
Durbin’s term ends in January 2027.
Multiple lawmakers spoke on Durbin’s behalf including two people who had worked for Durbin as then-legislative aides or staff — talking about lessons learned that shaped their careers. Another lawmaker called him a friend.
In his speech, Durbin, 80, said he is proud to be the son of an immigrant. He said he will miss the impact he is able to have in his position, and reminisced about successes he has had, like leading legislation that banned smoking on airplanes.
Durbin spoke on proposing the Dream Act, as he has done every year since 2001 and asking then-President Barack Obama (a former colleague of Durbin’s in the U.S Senate) for help, which led to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy — that protects certain undocumented individuals who entered the country as children from deportation.
Durbin said his life has been “genuinely enriched by helping people from our great state and nation,” adding to that he hopes the lawmakers will be enriched in the same way.
The state’s senior senator warned the general assembly about a challenging election to come, and about division.
“One of the fundamentals of a constitutional democracy is the integrity of elections; that losers will accept results. Since John Adams succeeded President George Washington, we’ve accepted the finality of the election process throughout our 250-year history…Debates in congress and contests in our courts indicate this next election may be challenged in ways we have never seen before in our history. Abraham Lincoln in a house divided speech that he gave here in Springfield, gave a grim warning that the divisions in America over the issue of slavery could destroy our nation. We see similar divisions today. The challenge we face in the days ahead could be just as serious. I hope that those of us blessed to live in this Land of Lincoln will remember his warnings in 1858, and his counsel to those who lead this nation in our time,” Durbin said.
Gov. Pritzker attended the session and sat near Durbin and his family.
Durbin announced in April 2025 that he would not seek re-election in 2026.
Durbin is completing his fifth term in the Senate. As the 47th U.S. Senator from Illinois, he is the longest serving, popularly elected Senator from the state. Durbin also serves as the Senate Democratic Whip, the second highest ranking position among Senate Democrats. He was elected to serve as Whip by Senate Democrats every two years since 2005 and is the longest serving Whip from either party.
The Illinois Freedom Caucus sought to encourage Republican lawmakers to boycott Durbin’s address, saying in a Facebook post that Durbin for decades has “championed the failed policies that have hurt working families in Illinois and across America, from reckless spending and open-border policies to attacks on conservative values and constitutional freedoms,” which was attributed to State. Rep. Adam Niemberg, R-Dietrich.
(This story was updated to fix a typo.)
Tom Ackerman covers breaking news and trending news along with general news for the Springfield State Journal-Register. He can be reached at tackerman@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Sen. Durbin warns Illinois lawmakers about upcoming election, division
Reporting by Tom Ackerman, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
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