Tony Coelho Lecture

A webcast of Senator Durbin's speech is now available.

• Click here to view the webcast.
• Click here to view the webcast with split-screen closed captioning.

To download a copy of Senator Durbin's remarks, click here.

Senator Dick Durbin is the Assistant Majority Leader of the United States Senate and the senior U.S. Senator from Illinois. After seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996 and re-elected in 2002. In 2004, his fellow Democratic senators elected him to the post of Minority Whip. In December 2006, they elected him to the post of Assistant Majority Leader, also known as Majority Whip. It is the Senate’s second highest-ranking position.

Senator Durbin has a distinguished record of working to break down the barriers that exclude people with disabilities. In particular, he was one of the original co-sponsors of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In July 2007, the American Association of People with Disabilities honored Senator Durbin with its prestigious Justice for All Award, which recognizes people who are “extraordinary champions” of the political and economic empowerment of people with disabilities.

Senator Durbin serves on the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Rules and Administration. He also serves as a national co-chair of Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.

During the Fourth Annual Coelho Lecture, Senator Durbin focused on disabilities legislation in the upcoming congressional term.