The next U.S. senator from Illinois will be decided on Tuesday. The victor will take over for outgoing Sen. Dick Durbin.
Durbin, the longest-serving senator in Illinois history, is retiring, but not before he reflects on the highs and the lows during his decades in Washington.
"It was the right time for me, but I look back and think I'd love to be there if the election turns out as I hope it," he said. "I wanna be able to walk out the front door instead of being carried out the back door, and I've seen that happen."
Durbin said that he's a little bit frustrated leaving, as he believes some exciting things are going to happen, but adds there will be other good people after him.
As he prepares to leave his position as senator, he looks back on some of his proudest accomplishments.
"I didn't know when I banned smoking on airplanes with an amendment what a change it would bring to America. At the time, over 25 years ago, 29% of high school students in America were smoking tobacco cigarettes, 29% — Today, 2%."
Durbin also fought to clear a legal pathway for those born in the U.S.
"I also want to say that the dreamers are in here in my heart. For 25 years, I've been fighting to give these young people, who were brought to the United States by their parents ... had nothing to say about the decision, a chance for a pathway to citizenship. We've come close. Barack Obama, as president, helped us with DACA. But we still got a ways to go."
He added that Obama's swearing-in as president is something he'll forget — revisiting a moment in November 2006 when he asked him to run.
"I was at the Union League Club with him. I pulled him in the side room, and I said, 'I want you to run for president, and I'll support you.' Now, I wasn't the only one who said that, nor the first, but I was the first senator. I endorsed him for president in 14 months. I was the only senator who was backing him, and he won ... go down to the Obama Center, and compare how you feel after walking through those displays with the feeling in politics today."
As for politics today, if it feels nastier and more corrupt, Durbin's thoughts may come as a surprise.
"The relationship between senators is much better than you might assume. There are a handful of them that I don't get along with, and I just don't pay much attention to, nor do they pay attention to me, but there are a lot of them on both sides of the aisle that I work with every single day in a positive way."
What has changed is the threats facing those in public office.
"I've had threats too, involving my family more recently, and we've reported them and followed through. I'm not the only one — Democrats' and Republicans' families have been through the same thing. It's really a sad chapter in current politics.
When asked about two days in particular — his first mention being September 11.
"Being asked to evacuate the Capitol is something you never forget. We heard there was another plane on the way, and maybe on the way to crash into the Capitol, and we didn't know which way to turn. People would come up to me, tourists, because I was wearing a tie and say, 'Are you a senator?' Yeah. Where are we supposed to go? There is no place to go because we never thought about this possibility."
The second — The January 6 Capitol insurrection.
"When that mob came in and ran us out of our business in the chambers. It was just a horrible moment. I was angry to think that the Capitol Rotunda, which was used as a hospital for Union soldiers who were dying in the Civil War, was invaded by a group that was waving a Confederate flag, for god's sake. That was a desecration of that Capitol, and I still haven't gotten over it."
Before he leaves the office, his message to the Illinoisans who have supported him over the years?
"Thanks for giving me this chance, and I've had a chance to represent what I consider one of the best states in the union," he said. "I wish I could continue to do this, but it's just not the right time. Others have to step in and continue this battle."
Durbin also says he worries about the counting of votes this election season. His greatest fear is that the Trump administration will undermine this election, try to hold back from counting some votes they don't want to see cast.
The 81-year-old moves from being a senator to a citizen on January 3.
