WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin has represented all or part of Illinois in Washington for more than half of his life. Currently, he is the No. 2 ranking Democrat in the Senate, serving as the majority whip and chair of the Judiciary Committee.

However, with Republicans taking control of the U.S. Senate in January, it means changes for Durbin, who turns 80 on Thursday, Nov. 21, but so far it is uncertain exactly what those will be.

According to Ballotpedia, Durbin has filed paperwork for the 2026 election but has not officially declared his candidacy.

While he has publicly discussed that he will have to make a decision soon, so far he has avoided any official announcements regarding the upcoming Senate term or the election.

“I’m going to watch and see what this means,” Durbin said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune after the city’s Veterans Day remembrance ceremony on Nov. 11 at Soldier Field. “I enjoy serving in the Senate. I’m a realist about the future. But I want to see how the relationship works.”

As part of the transition to Republican rule, Dick Durbin will lose his chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee, but he has not said whether he would serve as ranking minority member, according to Axios.

As chair of the Judiciary Committee, he led the nomination hearings for Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Durbin’s deputy chief of staff for communications, Emily Hampsten, told Axios that Durbin "stands ready to continue to lead his colleagues as Ranking Member in the 119th Congress."

"Sen. Durbin has successfully led the Judiciary Committee for the past four years as Chair — leading to 214, and counting, lifetime judges confirmed during the Biden administration," Hampsten said.

Illinois’ second senator, Sen. Tammy Duckworth said Durbin "did a remarkable job opposing Trump’s judicial nominees during his first administration and I know Dick can do it again."

Dick Durbin, who now splits time between Washington, D.C., and Springfield, was born in East St. Louis and is a graduate of Assumption High School in 1962.

A graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and Georgetown University Law Center, Durbin made an unsuccessful run for Illinois Lt. Governor in 1978.

In 1982, Durbin was elected to the 20th congressional district, defeating incumbent Republican Paul Findley.

Durbin represented the district until he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996, filling the seat after the retirement of long-time U.S. Sen. Paul Simon. He defeated future Gov. Pat Quinn in the primary and Republican Al Salvi in the general election.