Durbin Delivers Commencement Address At Lake Forest College

May 09, 2026 Durbin Delivers Commencement Address At Lake Forest College LAKE FOREST - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) delivered the commencement address to Lake Forest College’s Class of 2026 during a ceremony today at the Rosemont Theater in Rosemont, Illinois. After being presented with a Doctor of Humane Letters Honorary Degree during the ceremony, Durbin congratulated this year’s graduates’ hard work and shared lessons he has learned over more than four decades in public life. “With family and friends, you are closing one door and opening another,” said Durbin. “Enjoy this summer moment in your life. And perhaps, as you step into your next chapter, one or two of these lessons I’ve learned will help. Congratulations Class of 2026!” Durbin’s full remarks as prepared for delivery appear below : Thank you, President Sosulski, for that kind introduction. It reminds me of a memorable experience I had in a Chicago school cafeteria. A young girl asked me, “Who are you?” I said, “I’m Dick Durbin.” She asked, “What do you do?” I said, “I’m a United States Senator.” She responded, “Well good for you.” In just a few words, that little girl got to the point. I will not match Dr. Seuss in brevity today, but I learned a long time ago that a speech doesn’t have to be eternal to be immortal. In a public life of more than four decades, let me share with you a few things I learned. Number One… The late Jack Valenti taught me that every good speech contains six words: “Let me tell you a story.” Nobody likes speeches, but people like stories. I have used this advice to literally put faces on the complex policy issues we debate in Washington. One that is near and dear to my heart is the Dream Act . Over the years, I have shared 150 stories of Dreamers on the Senate floor to advocate for these men and women who were brought to the United States as children and grew up believing they were citizens. I believe they should have a path to citizenship they can earn. By sharing their stories and showing their faces, it becomes much more difficult to demonize these individuals who are small business owners, nurses, teachers, students, and members of our military. So, let me tell you a story. Number Two… Success starts with getting in the door. Greg Kelley is an amazing story. This young African American leader is the President of one of the largest labor unions in Chicago. Last year, I had breakfast with Greg and asked him how he got started in labor politics. He looked at me and laughed and said, “I started as an intern in your office. Volunteered for your campaign. Worked with members of SEIU over the years and afterwards they asked me to lead their union.” No surprise. I believe in the value of internships. I started my career on Capitol Hill as a college intern for Senator Paul Douglas of Illinois. I will never forget that day in February of 1966 when he agreed to hire me as an intern to work in his office. As a student from East St. Louis, Illinois, going to work in the office of a U.S. Senator was one of the most exciting things I had ever done. It changed the trajectory of my life. Over the years, I have had more than 3,000 interns in my Congressional offices. For many of them, getting in the door changed their lives. Number Three… In life, the little things are often the big things. Lynn Martin was a Republican Congresswoman from Rockford and a member of George H.W. Bush’s Cabinet. She told me that she made a practice of sending letters after elections to the losers, not the winners. She said: “The winners will never remember you reached out to them, but the losers will never forget.” I knew she was right because I lost three elections before I finally won one, and I remember how I felt when I lost. So, I started sending letters to both Democrats and Republicans when they lost. I cannot tell you how many candidates told me later how much that letter meant. When a Republican elected official announced he was resigning due to his battle with an addiction, I called and left him a one-minute voicemail of encouragement. He sent me a handwritten note eight years later thanking me and telling me he never deleted my voicemail. Many times, the little things are the big things. Number Four… The silence of our friends. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote: “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” Years ago, I made a statement on the Senate floor which generated a world of controversy. I became a target for many attacks, personal and political. It was a low point for me, but fortunately many of my friends rallied to my side with phone calls and letters of support. But many did not. Don’t miss the opportunity to stand by your friends when it really counts. Number Five… Keep an eye out for mentors and role models who reflect the best—look for integrity, honesty, and caring. And never hitch your wagon to a person who cannot say: “I was wrong. I’m sorry.” People ask me how I’ve survived all these years in Congress. The short answer is: I was blessed with two of the best political mentors, in former Illinois Senators Paul Douglas and Paul Simon. They not only taught me the craft of politics, but also the threshold obligation of honesty in public life. Dollar honesty and issue honesty. Without that North Star to guide you, you can easily get lost. I’ve seen it happen. I hope I have lived up to their example and passed that lesson along to the next generation of political leaders. Number Six… The issues that you make the biggest impact on are the ones that affect you personally. This year marked the 36th anniversary of my landmark legislation to ban smoking on airplanes. My dad smoked two packs of Camels a day, developed lung cancer, and died at the age of 53. I was in high school at the time and I made a vow to myself then… I’m going to stay away from cigarettes – they killed my dad. When I got to Washington, I learned that the tobacco industry was the most powerful lobbying force in town. But I brought a special passion to this fight. The issue was personal to me and to a lot of people who served in Congress. Little did I know then that passage of my bill to ban smoking on airplanes was a tipping point in America. People said, if it’s unsafe to smoke in an airplane, why is it safe to smoke on a train, a bus, in an office building, a restaurant, or a hospital? And the next thing you know, America changed and the world changed. I was honored to be part of that change. Now here are two words that you have been waiting for: In conclusion. At your stage in my life, I had no idea what was next. I was headed to law school as a default, a fallback if the winds of political fate blew in the wrong direction. Thirteen years after graduating law school, after losing three elections, I was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. I served there for fourteen years before being elected to the Senate, where I served for thirty. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., Yankee from Olympus, once wrote “It is required of a man that he should share the passion of his time at the peril of being judges not to have lived. I certainly have had my chance to not only observe from a front row seat, but to personally engage in those actions and passions of my time. Now, it is your turn. As citizens, as voters, perhaps as elected leaders, your generation faces a political upheaval in America whose outcome will decide after 250 years whether the passions that gave birth to this democracy can endure. You come to this moment of battle with values honed by family and faith, an education which can give you wisdom, and a weapon that many before you died to protect. That weapon, your right to vote. Use it. Don’t waste it. A fellow once wrote, “the best moments of life are squeezed into a headful of thoughts and a handful of summers.” With family and friends, you are closing one door and opening another. Enjoy this summer moment in your life. And perhaps, as you step into your next chapter, one or two of these lessons I’ve learned will help. Congratulations Class of 2026! -30- Print Email Share Tweet