Claim: Alpha House is inspired by Congressman Dick Durbin.

Richard Joseph Durbin -LRB- born November 21 , 1944 -RRB- is an American politician who is the senior United States Senator from Illinois , in office since 1997 . He has been the Assistant Democratic Leader -LRB- whip -RRB- , the second highest position in the Democratic Party leadership in the Senate , since 2005 , serving as Minority Whip from 2005 to 2007 , Majority Whip from 2007 to 2015 , and Minority Whip again since 2015 .   Durbin was born in East St. Louis , Illinois . He graduated from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and Georgetown University Law Center . Working in state legal counsel throughout the 1970s , he made an unsuccessful run for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois in 1978 . He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982 , representing the Springfield-based 20th congressional district . In 1996 , he won election to the U.S. Senate by an unexpected 15-point margin . He has served as Senate Democratic Whip since 2005 , and for a period of eight years -LRB- 2007 -- 2015 -RRB- served as the Senate Majority Whip . He is currently dean of the Illinois congressional delegation , as he has served in Congress since 1983 as a U.S. Representative from Illinois 20th Congressional District , and from 1997 as a U.S. Senator from Illinois .   Senator Durbin now serves as the Senate Minority Whip following the 2014 midterm election , where the Republicans gained a majority in the U.S. Senate . Durbin won reelection in the 2014 midterm election , beating his Republican opponent , Jim Oberweis , by a margin of 53.55 % to 42.69 % .