Senator Dick Durbin, Illinois' senior senator and the convener of the state's bipartisan congressional delegation, delivered the Lincoln Lecture on October 17, 2016 at 7 p.m. at Lincoln Hall Theater. 

Senator Durbin, a Democrat from Springfield, is the 47th Senator from the State of Illinois. He serves as the Assistant Democratic Leader, the second highest ranking position among the Senate Democrats. Also known as the Minority Whip, Senator Durbin has been elected to this leadership post by his Democratic colleagues every two years since 2005. He sits on the Senate Judiciary, Appropriations, and Rules Committees, and is the Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution and the Appropriations Committee's Defense Subcommittee.

In commemoration of the sesquicentennial anniversary of President Lincoln’s death and then, two years later, of the founding of the University of Illinois, the University of Illinois College of Law launched the The New Lincoln Lectures: What Abraham Lincoln Means to the 21st Century – a series of several lectures held in 2016 and 2017. The series features luminaries in various fields related to law, government, and history, who reflect on Lincoln’s legacy and its continuing relevance – both in their individual lives and the life of the nation – 150 years after his passing.

Bob Woodward, investigative reporter with the Washington Post, and George Will, columnist and commentator, delivered the initial lectures earlier this year. 

Lecture video to be posted shortly.

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