MEDILL TrialMonitors
Sen. Dick Durbin says visiting a prison can be an “eye-opener,” giving lawmakers a firsthand understanding of the realities of incarceration and the need for meaningful reform.
During an April 30 conversation with student reporters from MEDILL TrialMonitors, Durbin, D-Ill., said bipartisan cooperation was critical to passing the First Step Act, a landmark criminal justice reform law he co-sponsored with Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. Signed by President Donald J. Trump in 2018, the legislation sought to reduce recidivism, reform federal sentencing practices and ease prison overcrowding.
Durbin said he has continued to advance criminal justice reform through subsequent legislation, including the First Step Implementation Act, which expands upon provisions of the original law.
Reflecting on his broader reform efforts, Durbin said he believes every member of Congress should be required to visit a prison at least once every two years.
“Visiting a prison is an eye-opener to actually see what’s happening,” Durbin said, recalling a visit to the maximum-security prison in Tamms, Illinois.
Durbin also reflected on his support, while serving in the House, for the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, which established a 100-to-1 sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine offenses. He called that vote the biggest regret of his political career, saying the experience helped shape his decades-long commitment to criminal justice reform.
In April, the longtime senator and Senate Democratic whip announced he will retire when his term ends in January 2027, concluding a 44-year career in Congress. A native of East St. Louis, Illinois, who has lived in Springfield for the past five decades, he was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982.
