Dupage Policy Journal

Dan Proft, co-host of AM 560 The Answer, commented on Senator Dick Durbin's decision to retire after four decades in Congress, describing it as the end of a "reign of shame." Proft made this statement in a post on X.

"Dick "Sack of" Durbin ends his four-decade reign of shame in Congress as a room-temperature snake oil peddler which not coincidentally tracks with IL's descent into a kleptocracy," said Proft, Radio host, political commentator and activist.

In his post, Proft shared a 31-second YouTube clip from 2007 showing Sen. Durbin speaking on the Senate floor. The video is titled "Durbin compares U.S. troops to Nazis, Soviets, and Pol Pot," and features Durbin seemingly criticizing the treatment of prisoners by U.S. personnel. "If I read this to you and didn’t tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have happened by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime, Pol Pot or others that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, that’s not the case. This was the action of Americans in treatment of their own prisoners," Durbin said in the clip. Proft referred to this moment as one that best represents Durbin’s career in public office.

Screenshot of Dan Proft's April 23 Post on X | X

On April 23, Sen. Dick Durbin announced via video that he would not seek re-election in 2026. According to Durbin's press release: "The decision of whether to run for re-election has not been easy. I truly love the job of being a United States Senator. But in my heart, I know it’s time to pass the torch. So, I am announcing today that I will not be seeking re-election at the end of my term." Durbin is Illinois’ senior senator and holds the record as the longest-serving popularly elected senator from the state. As chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee during the 117th and 118th Congresses, he oversaw numerous committee hearings and meetings.

Proft is known as the co-host of "Chicago’s Morning Answer" on AM 560 Chicago and is a former Republican candidate for Illinois Governor. He attended Northwestern University and earned his J.D. from Loyola University-Chicago.