Meet House Republican Leader Jim Durkin



The Illinois House Republican Caucus is pleased to introduce State Rep. Jim Durkin as the new Illinois House Republican Leader.

“I am proud to be the new leader for the House Republican Caucus and am anxious to get to work.  It’s an exciting time.  We have significant fiscal challenges facing our state, but nothing is insurmountable.  The House Republicans have ideas on how things should be done to get Illinois back on the right track.  Working together – we can move Illinois forward.”

Durkin has served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1995 through 2002 until he became the Republican nominee for United States Senate. He returned to the General Assembly in 2006 when he was elected to represent the 82nd District—a position he currently holds.

Leader-elect Durkin has a long list of accomplishments as a legislator.  

In 2008-2009, Durkin served as the ranking Republican on the House Special Investigative Impeachment Committee that scrutinized evidence against former Governor Rod Blagojevich after he was indicted on federal corruption charges. In the end, the committee recommended impeachment for Rod Blagojevich and barring him from ever holding public office in the future.

In 2011, he led the charge to reform the College Illinois! pre-paid tuition program after discovering the investment program was severely underfunded.  His efforts, as chairman of the College Illinois Recovery Task Force, have helped bring stability to the program.

In 2012, he was also a co-manager of the Select Committee on Discipline which successfully prosecuted State Representative Derrick Smith for abusing the powers of his office and which led to his expulsion from the General Assembly.

Prior to being elected leader, Durkin served as an Assistant Minority Leader, was a member of the Illinois Task Force on Gang Violence, fought to protect children from sexual predators and is a founding member of the Illinois Legislative Diabetes Caucus.

Durkin is a former Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney and former Assistant Illinois Attorney General.  He is currently a partner with Arnstein and Lehr LLP.

Durkin received his Bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University and his law degree from John Marshall Law School. He is a resident of Western Springs where he lives with his wife, Celeste, and four daughters.

If you want to keep up with Leader Jim Durkin and the efforts of the House Republican caucus, please ‘like’ his facebook fan page or the Illinois House Republicans facebook page
or visit his website.

Leader Durkin and the entire House Republican Caucus would like to offer a special thanks to State Rep. Tom Cross for his service and commitment to our caucus and we wish him the best in his future endeavors.