U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin’s reputation as the genial uncle of Illinois politics hasn’t exactly hurt him in his latest war of words with President Donald Trump.
Despite being one of the most reliably liberal members of the Senate, he isn’t typically thought of as a rhetorical bomb thrower. His reluctance to lob insults or to make obviously false claims — relative, at least, to the president — likely weighs in the judgment of voters deciding if they should believe Trump told a room full of senators and representatives that African nations were “shithole countries” from which the U.S. should take fewer immigrants, as Durbin alleges and Trump denies.
Still, you can’t spend 35 years in elected office without getting in a few scrapes. These are some of Durbin’s more memorable controversies:
Five controversial moments
1
The time he joked that Abe Lincoln must have been Jewish, because “his name was Abraham and he was shot in the temple.” The old gag apparently got laughs when the late, Jewish federal Judge Abraham Lincoln Marowitz told it, but it didn’t go down as well when Durbin repeated it at the dedication of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield in 2005. “Let me just remind people that Lincoln had a sense of humor too,” Durbin protested, though he added, “We live in a little different age now, and I’ll think about it in the future, but I absolutely meant no disrespect to Judge Marovitz or Abraham Lincoln.”
2
The time he insisted he had no hand in securing federal funding received by 10 clients of the lobbying business of his wife, Loretta, even though his office announced the grants. Durbin in 2014 said the grants were made by the Obama administration, which allowed his office to announce the grants as a perk. “I did nothing in terms of securing the money,” Durbin said.
3
The time he compared the U.S. treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base to the atrocities committed by “Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime — Pol Pot or others — that had no concern for human beings.” Durbin later apologized to the military for the 2005 remarks, which he said were “a very poor choice of words.”
4
The time he changed his mind on abortion. An opponent of abortion rights when he was elected to the U.S. House in 1982, Durbin changed his mind in 1989, he said, after meeting a victim of incest and a woman who became pregnant in a gang rape, though his evolving position also happened to make him a more electable candidate statewide. Jacqueline Nottingham, president of the board of Springfield Right to Life, said at the time: “It’s a classic politician’s change. They are pro-life when it’s in their favor and pro-abortion when it’s not.” Gov. Bruce Rauner likely appreciates the conundrum.
5
The time he didn’t get any cookies for Christmas. As the author of the first federal law banning smoking on domestic flights, Durbin in 1987 upset Nabisco, which was part of the same conglomerate as tobacco-maker R.J. Reynolds. Nabisco’s lobbyists sent lawmakers large Animal Cracker boxes filled with candy bars and crackers, but Durbin mysteriously missed out. Not even a “lump of coal” in his stocking, Inc. reported at the time.
Early life and family
Durbin was born in East St. Louis, Nov. 21, 1944. He graduated from high school in 1962 and attended undergrad at Georgetown, majoring in foreign service and graduating in 1966. He was an intern for Sen. Paul Douglas in his senior year of college. Durbin graduated from the law school at Georgetown in 1969. Durbin married Loretta Schaefer in 1967 and the couple later had three children, one who passed away.
Early career
Durbin first practiced law in Springfield and was the legal counsel for Lt. Gov. Paul Simon. He taught at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.
Rise in politics
Durbin ran for office in 1976 and lost a bid for Illinois Senate in 1976. He ran for lieutenant governor in 1978 but also lost. Durbin won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in the 20th District, which covered much of central Illinois. He served six terms there until being elected to retiring Sen. Paul Simon’s U.S. Senate seat in 1996.
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House races
Senate races
GOP opponent
YEAR
PERCENTAGE
YEAR
PERCENTAGE
1982
Durbin
1996
Durbin
50.3%
56.1%
Paul Findley
49.7%
Al Salvi
40.7%
Other
Durbin
1984
3.3%
61.3%
Richard Austin
38.7%
2002
Durbin
60.3%
1986
Durbin
Jim Durkin
68.1%
38.0%
Kevin McCarthy
Other
31.9%
1.7%
1988
Durbin
Durbin
2008
68.9%
67.8%
Paul Jergens
Steve Saeurberg
31.1%
28.5%
Other
3.7%
1990
Durbin
66.2%
Paul Jergens
2014
Durbin
33.8%
53.5%
Jim Oberweis
42.7%
Durbin
1992
56.5%
John Shimkus
Other
3.8%
43.5%
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House races
GOP opponent
YEAR
PERCENTAGE
1982
Durbin
50.4%
Paul Findley
49.7%
Durbin
1984
61.3%
Richard Austin
38.7%
1986
Durbin
68.1%
Kevin McCarthy
31.9%
1988
Durbin
68.9%
Paul Jergens
31.1%
1990
Durbin
66.2%
Paul Jergens
33.8%
Durbin
1992
56.5%
John Shimkus
43.5%
Senate races
YEAR
PERCENTAGE
1996
Durbin
56.1%
Al Salvi
40.7%
Other
3.3%
2002
Durbin
60.3%
Jim Durkin
38.0%
Other
1.7%
Durbin
2008
67.8%
Steve Saeurberg
28.5%
Other
3.7%
2014
Durbin
53.6%
Jim Oberweis
42.7%
Other
3.8%
Sources: Biographical directory of the U.S. Congress, www.durbin.senate.gov, Federal Elections Commission, Illinois Blue Book, Encylopedia Britannica, baiduhai reporting
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