Dick Durbin
U.S. Senator from Illinois
Richard Joseph Durbin was born in November 1944 in East St. Louis, Illinois. He earned an undergraduate degree from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. During his senior year, he served as an intern at the Senate. He received his Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center, after which he entered into private practice in Springfield, Illinois. He served as legal counsel to Illinois Lieutenant Governor Paul Simon and then as legal counsel to the Illinois State Judiciary Committee for ten years. Durbin was also an adjunct professor at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.
Durbin was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982 and served fourteen years there. He successfully ran for the United States Senate and has been Senator from Illinois since assuming office in January 1997.
Durbin is married to Loretta and they have had three children, one of whom died in 2008 from complications due to a congenital heart condition. He is a Catholic.
In the News…
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, relied on by most social media platforms, ensures that hosts and providers, media sites, and search engines, cannot be held legally responsible for the actions of their users.
Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, during questioning of Attorney General Merrick Garland about combatting drug trafficking, called for the amendment or repeal of that section of the law.
“I think Section 230 has become a suicide pact. We have basically said to these companies, you are absolved from liability. Make money. And they’re at it in overtime. Deaths result from it and we have a responsibility; I think the committee really spoke to it,” Senator Durbin said. “We may see it differently, but on a bipartisan basis, and I’ve spoken to Senator Graham, and I want to make sure that when we agree it also is publicized. We both feel very strongly that this committee needs to be a venue to take on this issue.”
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Senator Durbin today? You can let him know at:
The Honorable Dick Durbin
Senator from Illinois
711 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
