Richard Durbin — 2015 Whittington Lecture

Senator Durbin has championed transformative immigration reform and judicial oversight throughout his distinguished Senate career. He authored the landmark Dream Act over 20 years ago, pioneering bipartisan legislation to provide pathways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought to America as children. As Senate Democratic Whip since 2005 and current Judiciary Committee Ranking Member, Durbin has confirmed dozens of federal judges while leading oversight of Trump administration policies. He secured increased federal funding for childhood asthma prevention, immunizations, and global AIDS combat while advocating for campaign finance reform and expanded Amtrak funding.

For the 2015 Whittington Lecture, he spoke on his experience driving policy change by building bipartisan support.