A biography for Dick Durbinhasn’t been written yet.
“I've known Al Franken for over 20 years. He is my friend. He was on the floor of the Senate announcing his resignation. I sat just a few feet away from him. He said it was the worst day in his political life. It was a somber feeling. It was a reality.”
“Those of us who believe in God and those of us who have dedicated our lives to helping others in the name of God don't want to take a second seat to anyone who is suggesting that one word out of the platform means that the Democrats across America are godless.”
“We borrow 40 cents out of every dollar that we spend. We borrow most of it from countries like China. They have become major creditors of the United States and have more power over our economy than we want them to. So dealing with this is not only the right thing economically, it's certainly right from a moral viewpoint.”
“The for-profit college industry is clearly the single-heaviest subsidized business in America. More than any defense contractor or any farm operation... So many of them are a horrible waste of students' time and of taxpayer dollars.”
“Let me tell you the first president to recognize the state of Israel was Harry Truman, a Democrat and every president since, Democrat and Republican, has stood closely with Israel.”
“There is no room for legal hair-splitting when it comes to the humane treatment of detainees - not in a nation founded on the rule of law and respect for human rights.”
“Borrowing 40 cents out of every dollar we spend for missiles or food stamps is unsustainable. And being indebted for generations to China and OPEC does not make American a stronger nation.”
“I've been impressed with Rick Guzman and his commitment to the residents of Aurora since I first met him many years ago.”
“I certainly want to be the whip, and that's an election every two years in the Senate Democratic caucus.”
“We don't want to see the government shut down.”
“I really believe in the people of this country.”
“Where would Monsanto be without the U.S. farm program and world-class research labs?”
“Osama bin Laden is gone. The war in Iraq is over. Afghanistan is coming to a close.”
“America wins when the voiceless have a seat at the table, when the vulnerable are protected, and when working families have the same political clout as the wealthy.”
“We've had enough with the gun traffickers and straw purchasers who buy guns out of state and sell them out of the trunks of their cars in Chicago.”
“I've been there; I've been in the minority before. It humbles the exalted. But that's all right.”
“Flint is to the lead issue what Three Mile Island was to nuclear power. People are stepping back and thinking, 'There still is lead in my home?'”
“Since 2000, I have proposed changing the Constitution so that our popular vote decides the presidency.”
“You would think that, at this point, with records being kept and the vast amount of knowledge on these drugs, the pharmacists could wave off prescriptions that are dangerous to customers.”
“I want to continue to serve as whip of the caucus.”