Richard Durbin, Senator for Illinois

Durbin is the senior senator from Illinois and is a Democrat. He has served since Jan 7, 1997. Durbin is next up for reelection in 2026 and serves until Jan 3, 2027.

He is also Senate Majority Whip, a party leadership role. Party leaders focus more on setting their party’s legislative priorties than on introducing legislation.

He was previously the representative for Illinois’s 20^th congressional district as a Democrat from 1983 to 1996.

Durbin has cosponsored 2 bills introduced in the current Congress by Republican legislators who fomented the terrorist attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 by calling for entire states to be disenfranchised in the 2020 presidential election.

Analysis

Legislative Metrics

Read our 2020 Report Card for Durbin.

Ideology–Leadership Chart

Durbin is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot is a member of the Senate positioned according to our ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).

The chart is based on the bills Durbin has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2017 to May 13, 2021. See full analysis methodology.

Ratings from Advocacy Organizations

Human Rights Campaign: 100% Planned Parenthood Action Fund: 100% League of Conservation Voters: 88% United States Chamber of Commerce: 50% The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws: D The Club for Growth: 3%

Committee Membership

Richard Durbin sits on the following committees:

Enacted Legislation

Durbin was the primary sponsor of 36 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:

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Does 36 not sound like a lot? Very few bills are ever enacted — most legislators sponsor only a handful that are signed into law. But there are other legislative activities that we don’t track that are also important, including offering amendments, committee work and oversight of the other branches, and constituent services.

We consider a bill enacted if one of the following is true: a) it is enacted itself, b) it has a companion bill in the other chamber (as identified by Congress) which was enacted, or c) if at least about half of its provisions were incorporated into bills that were enacted (as determined by an automated text analysis, applicable beginning with bills in the 110^th Congress).

Bills Sponsored

Issue Areas

Durbin sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:

Health (23%) Crime and Law Enforcement (20%) Education (16%) International Affairs (11%) Taxation (8%) Armed Forces and National Security (8%) Government Operations and Politics (7%) Immigration (6%)

Recent Bills

Some of Durbin’s most recently sponsored bills include...

View All » | View Cosponsors »

As Senate Majority Whip, Durbin may be focused on his responsibilities other than introducing legislation, such as setting the chamber’s agenda, uniting his party, and brokering deals.

Voting Record

Key Votes

Durbin voted Yea

On the Nomination PN1430: John Leonard Badalamenti, of Florida, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of ...

Nomination Confirmed 55/22 on Jun 1, 2020.

Durbin voted Yea

On the Nomination PN1327: Matthew Thomas Schelp, of Missouri, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of ...

Nomination Confirmed 72/23 on Feb 12, 2020.

Durbin voted Yea

On the Nomination PN720: Douglas Russell Cole, of Ohio, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of ...

Nomination Confirmed 63/30 on Dec 4, 2019.

Durbin voted Yea

On the Nomination PN208: Peter D. Welte, of North Dakota, to be United States District Judge for the District of ...

Nomination Confirmed 68/22 on Jul 30, 2019.

Durbin voted Yea

On the Nomination PN150: Gordon Hartogensis, of Connecticut, to be Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation for a term ...

Nomination Confirmed 72/27 on Apr 30, 2019.

Durbin voted Yea

H.J.Res. 31: Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019

Conference Report Agreed to 83/16 on Feb 14, 2019.

This bill, in its final form, funded the parts of the federal government whose funding was to lapse on February 15, 2019. On December 22, ...

Durbin voted Yea

On the Nomination PN101: Heather Wilson, of South Dakota, to be Secretary of the Air Force

Nomination Confirmed 76/22 on May 8, 2017.

Durbin voted Yea

H.R. 5325: Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2017

Bill Passed 72/26 on Sep 28, 2016.

The Continuing Appropriations and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017, and Zika Response and Preparedness Act (H.R. 5325) is an appropriations ...

Durbin voted Yea

H.J.Res. 124 (113th): Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015

Joint Resolution Passed 78/22 on Sep 18, 2014.

Durbin voted Nay

H.R. 4310 (112th): National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013

Conference Report Agreed to 81/14 on Dec 21, 2012.

Durbin voted Nay

H.R. 1540 (112th): National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012

Conference Report Agreed to 86/13 on Dec 15, 2011.

Durbin voted Yea

H.R. 4853 (111th): Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010

Motion Agreed to 81/19 on Dec 15, 2010.

The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (Pub.L. 111–312, H.R. 4853, 124 Stat. 3296, enacted December 17, 2010), also known ...

Missed Votes

From Jan 1997 to May 2021, Durbin missed 90 of 7,745 roll call votes, which is 1.2%. This is on par with the median of 1.6% among the lifetime records of senators currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.

We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absenses and major life events.

Show the numbers...

Time Period	Votes Eligible	Missed Votes	Percent	Percentile
1997 Jan-Mar	35	0	0.0%	0^th
1997 Apr-Jun	125	1	0.8%	64^th
1997 Jul-Sep	103	0	0.0%	0^th
1997 Oct-Nov	35	0	0.0%	0^th
1998 Jan-Mar	52	2	3.8%	64^th
1998 Apr-Jun	131	2	1.5%	73^rd
1998 Jul-Sep	109	0	0.0%	0^th
1998 Oct-Oct	22	1	4.5%	82^nd
1999 Jan-Mar	81	0	0.0%	0^th
1999 Apr-Jun	111	0	0.0%	0^th
1999 Jul-Sep	112	0	0.0%	0^th
1999 Oct-Nov	70	0	0.0%	0^th
2000 Feb-Mar	51	0	0.0%	0^th
2000 Apr-Jun	120	0	0.0%	0^th
2000 Jul-Sep	89	1	1.1%	38^th
2000 Oct-Dec	38	5	13.2%	69^th
2001 Jan-Mar	63	1	1.6%	69^th
2001 Apr-Jun	157	2	1.3%	76^th
2001 Jul-Sep	68	1	1.5%	50^th
2001 Oct-Dec	92	1	1.1%	56^th
2002 Jan-Mar	59	0	0.0%	0^th
2002 Apr-Jun	107	1	0.9%	65^th
2002 Jul-Sep	61	1	1.6%	50^th
2002 Oct-Nov	26	0	0.0%	0^th
2003 Jan-Mar	112	4	3.6%	84^th
2003 Apr-Jun	150	1	0.7%	35^th
2003 Jul-Sep	108	2	1.9%	63^rd
2003 Oct-Nov	89	0	0.0%	0^th
2004 Jan-Mar	64	1	1.6%	63^rd
2004 Apr-Jun	88	0	0.0%	0^th
2004 Jul-Sep	42	1	2.4%	68^th
2004 Oct-Dec	22	1	4.5%	74^th
2005 Jan-Mar	81	0	0.0%	0^th
2005 Apr-Jun	89	5	5.6%	86^th
2005 Jul-Sep	76	0	0.0%	0^th
2005 Oct-Dec	120	0	0.0%	0^th
2006 Jan-Mar	83	0	0.0%	0^th
2006 Apr-Jun	107	2	1.9%	59^th
2006 Jul-Sep	73	0	0.0%	0^th
2006 Nov-Dec	16	0	0.0%	0^th
2007 Jan-Mar	126	1	0.8%	45^th
2007 Apr-Jun	112	2	1.8%	73^rd
2007 Jul-Sep	119	2	1.7%	53^rd
2007 Oct-Dec	85	0	0.0%	0^th
2008 Jan-Mar	85	0	0.0%	0^th
2008 Apr-Jun	77	0	0.0%	0^th
2008 Jul-Sep	47	0	0.0%	0^th
2008 Oct-Dec	6	0	0.0%	0^th
2009 Jan-Mar	118	1	0.8%	68^th
2009 Apr-Jun	96	3	3.1%	84^th
2009 Jul-Sep	89	0	0.0%	0^th
2009 Oct-Dec	94	0	0.0%	0^th
2010 Jan-Mar	108	0	0.0%	0^th
2010 Apr-Jun	96	1	1.0%	35^th
2010 Jul-Sep	44	0	0.0%	0^th
2010 Nov-Dec	51	0	0.0%	0^th
2011 Jan-Mar	46	0	0.0%	0^th
2011 Apr-Jun	58	2	3.4%	62^nd
2011 Jul-Sep	49	0	0.0%	0^th
2011 Oct-Dec	82	3	3.7%	70^th
2012 Jan-Mar	63	0	0.0%	0^th
2012 Apr-Jun	109	0	0.0%	0^th
2012 Jul-Sep	28	0	0.0%	0^th
2012 Nov-Dec	50	0	0.0%	0^th
2013 Jan-Jan	1	0	0.0%	0^th
2013 Jan-Mar	92	0	0.0%	0^th
2013 Apr-Jun	76	0	0.0%	0^th
2013 Jul-Sep	43	0	0.0%	0^th
2013 Oct-Dec	80	0	0.0%	0^th
2014 Jan-Mar	93	2	2.2%	76^th
2014 Apr-Jun	123	0	0.0%	0^th
2014 Jul-Sep	54	0	0.0%	0^th
2014 Nov-Dec	96	0	0.0%	0^th
2015 Jan-Mar	135	0	0.0%	0^th
2015 Apr-Jun	85	2	2.4%	70^th
2015 Jul-Sep	52	0	0.0%	0^th
2015 Oct-Dec	67	0	0.0%	0^th
2016 Jan-Mar	38	1	2.6%	49^th
2016 Apr-Jun	79	7	8.9%	92^nd
2016 Jul-Sep	34	1	2.9%	62^nd
2016 Nov-Dec	12	0	0.0%	0^th
2017 Jan-Mar	101	2	2.0%	85^th
2017 Apr-Jun	54	6	11.1%	99^th
2017 Jul-Sep	53	0	0.0%	0^th
2017 Oct-Dec	117	0	0.0%	0^th
2018 Jan-Mar	63	3	4.8%	88^th
2018 Apr-Jun	80	0	0.0%	0^th
2018 Jul-Sep	75	4	5.3%	78^th
2018 Oct-Dec	56	0	0.0%	0^th
2019 Jan-Mar	54	2	3.7%	68^th
2019 Apr-Jun	135	2	1.5%	58^th
2019 Jul-Sep	124	2	1.6%	59^th
2019 Oct-Dec	115	0	0.0%	0^th
2020 Jan-Mar	80	2	2.5%	66^th
2020 May-Jun	48	1	2.1%	54^th
2020 Jul-Sep	71	0	0.0%	0^th
2020 Oct-Dec	90	2	2.2%	55^th
2021 Jan-Jan	2	0	0.0%	0^th
2021 Jan-Mar	142	0	0.0%	0^th
2021 Apr-May	50	0	0.0%	0^th

Primary Sources

The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:

unitedstates/congress-legislators, a community project gathering congressional information
The House and Senate websites, for committee membership and voting records
United States Congressional Roll Call Voting Records, 1789-1990 by Howard L. Rosenthal and Keith T. Poole.
Martis’s “The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress”, via Keith Poole’s roll call votes data set, for political party affiliation for Members of Congress from 1789 through about year 2000
GPO Member Guide for the photo
GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills

Sen. Richard Durbin

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Analysis

Legislative Metrics

Ideology–Leadership Chart

Ratings from Advocacy Organizations

Committee Membership

Enacted Legislation

Bills Sponsored

Issue Areas

Recent Bills

Voting Record

Key Votes

Durbin voted Yea

Durbin voted Yea

Durbin voted Yea

Durbin voted Yea

Durbin voted Yea

Durbin voted Yea

Durbin voted Yea

Durbin voted Yea

Durbin voted Yea

Durbin voted Nay

Durbin voted Nay

Durbin voted Yea

Missed Votes

Primary Sources