The Dirksen Congressional Center

08/27/2026

During his first election 70 years ago, Bob Michel was the only candidate elected with previous Capitol Hill experience as a staffer.

But that didn't translate into recognizability, at least for one top party leader.

Here, Michel poses with Vice President Richard Nixon, who inscribed the photo to Bob "Mitchell."

Nixon would come to know Michel better after his election, especially after the latter became one of two freshmen admitted into the Chowder and Marching Club.

(Photo from Robert H. Michel Collection.)

08/18/2026

Staff are the backbone of any elected official's work. Here, Sen. Dirksen presents a gift to Mark Trice during his 45th anniversary party as Sen. Hiram Fong looks on.

Trice was secretary for the Senate Republican Conference, and the minutes he took help provide the core of our behind-the-scenes examination of discussions among leaders throughout the 1960s that the Dirksen Center has digitized recently.

You can find those here: https://dirksencenter.org/collections/dirksen/collection/minutes/

08/14/2026

Earlier this month we checked in with the Brimfield Area Museum, which contacted us earlier this year to find out more about Everett Dirksen's appearances in Brimfield during his tenure in the U.S. House.

We uncovered some campaign material to loan for a display still being crafted, but also found some fun material to supplement the museum's display on Kress Corp., the major employer in the area.

The documents, on digital loan to the museum from the Dirksen Center, highlight the work the company went through to apply for a Small Business Administration loan after its large expansion in the early 1970s.

After being rejected by the SBA, they worked with U.S. Rep. Bob Michel to secure a review of their application. The ongoing correspondence demonstrates the often emotional process and ultimately what the successful reapplication meant to the growth of the business, which grew again by late in the '70s.

Check out the trove of documents as part of their display this weekend during the annual Old Settlers festival.

08/13/2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 13, 2026

PEKIN — An updated version of U.S. Sen. Everett Dirksen’s memoir, “The Education of a Senator,” will soon be published by the University Press of Kansas.

Marking the 30th anniversary of the original, the book publishing Sept. 1 includes a tranche of rarely seen photos and new information that gives added context for present-day readers about the Pekin native’s life and accomplishments.

The memoir was first published posthumously as part of the commemoration of the 1996 centennial of the senator's birth. Its draft pages were discovered as part of the collection at the Dirksen Congressional Center, which houses Dirksen’s archival papers and memorabilia.

The senator devoted time in the final weeks before his death in September 1969 to working on the autobiography, which focuses on his years growing up in Pekin; living here as a young man, husband and father; and then his service in the U.S. House. "The Education of a Senator" highlights experiences from central Illinois and Dirksen's 16-year stint in the House that prepared him to serve in the Senate. His recollections help show the genesis of his career-long support for civil rights legislation, as well as experiences that forged his approach to Cold War foreign policy and governing collaboratively even while serving as a member of the minority party.

Dozens of rare images have been curated from the Dirksen Center’s collection of photographs for inclusion in the book. They span the senator’s childhood, early adulthood, and career in Congress.

“From pictures that wouldn’t be out of place in any family’s photo album to those offering a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the halls of Congress, we feel the photos enrich the texture of the memoir and help the reader step into Everett Dirksen’s shoes at some key moments of his life,” White says.

In a newly written introduction, Dirksen’s surviving nephew Tom relates a series of poignant memories about his uncle and the community of Pekin, helping to bring the senator off the pages of history and onto a more relatable plane. His recollections even serve to explain the selection of the burial plot in Pekin where most sitting members of the U.S. Senate saw Dirksen laid to rest.

A new afterword by U.S. Senate Historian Emeritus Don Ritchie details Dirksen's historical impact on the Senate and the nation from a view 60 years on, explaining why the senator’s achievements and approach to governing are still relevant for us today.

“Sen. Dirksen is frank and engaging in how he relates his errors as well as his successes,” White says. “The added context provided by Tom Dirksen and Don Ritchie add even more dimensions to what readers will learn about this one-of-a-kind figure’s life in our community and his effects on our nation’s history.”

The Dirksen Center’s partnership with the University Press of Kansas extends more than a decade through UPK’s “Congressional Leaders” series, for which the Center has regularly provided financial subventions to support publication. Other lawmakers covered in the series include House Minority Leader Bob Michel; House Speakers Newt Gingrich, Tom Foley, and Thomas Brackett Reed; and U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn.

The book is available for pre-order from the University Press of Kansas at https://kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700643608/ but will also be available for purchase during the Pekin Marigold Festival at the Mineral Springs Pavilion from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12, at a cost of $30 payable in cash or via QR code purchase. Dirksen's love for the marigold inspired the creation of the festival.

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Advance Praise for “The Education of a Senator” 30th Anniversary Edition

"Everett Dirksen's memoir showcases the values in his early life and career that made him a true leader. Those qualities helped him rise above criticism to act for the good of the country by crafting the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other consequential bipartisan policies crucial to America today."

– Ray LaHood, former Congressman (1995-2009) and U.S. Secretary of Transportation (2009-2013)

“You’ll read this fascinating book with the hope that one day another Everett McKinley Dirksen will live among us. Ev Dirksen was an American political original, a fully formed personality with the timing and instincts of an accomplished actor – he hoped to be an actor as a young man – and the skill and determination to become one of the most successful legislators in the history of the U.S. Senate. Dirksen’s memoir The Education of a Senator is a reminder that, at its best, politics should be the domain of people with Dirksen’s intelligence, sense of humor, human decency and commitment to ideals larger and more important than party of personal aggrandizement.

– Marc C. Johnson, author of “Mansfield and Dirksen: Bipartisan Giants of the Senate” (2023)

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Since 1973, the nonpartisan, nonprofit Dirksen Congressional Center has promoted research and scholarship to advance the public understanding of the U.S. Congress, its people and its policies. Located in Pekin, Illinois, it holds the papers of its namesake, 1964 Civil Rights Act architect U.S. Sen. Everett Dirksen, as well as those of House Minority Leader Bob Michel; U.S. Rep. and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood; U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos; U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis; U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger; U.S. Rep. Harold Velde; and Time magazine congressional correspondent Neil MacNeil.

08/12/2026

Thanks to OLLI at Bradley University for the opportunity to present last week on the experiences U.S. Reps. Bob Michel and Tom Railsback had during the Watergate scandal and President Nixon's resignation.

Michel's experience leading House GOP campaign efforts in 1974, and being in the room as Nixon addressed congressional leaders moments before announcing his pending resignation on national TV are fascinating, while Railsback's experiences on the House Judiciary Committee helping to craft articles of impeachment are an often-forgotten story in central Illinois.

Next up for us in OLLI's programming are an October tour of the Dirksen Center, and a four-week class looking at Sen. Everett Dirksen's 1950 midterm Senate campaign and Michel's 1982 midterm House re-election campaign against attorney Doug Stephens. Registration is available now at: https://www.bradley.edu/academics/academic-institutes/olli/

08/11/2026

Congratulations to our returning Michel - LaHood DC interns from Bradley University, and a hearty thank-you to the donors who helped make their Capitol Hill experience possible!

Senior political science major Dylan Mabrey of East Peoria spent the summer working for U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen; senior history and Spanish major Andrew Furlan of Schaumburg was in U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood's office; and senior political science and history major Caleb Hollis of Elmwood interned with U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski.

Housing in and travel to D.C. is notoriously expensive, particularly in the summer. Annually, the program generates at least $21,000 in costs to the Ray LaHood Endowment at the Dirksen Center. It's because of the generosity of community donors that we can continue these intensive experiential opportunities.

Former U.S. Senate page and central Illinois native Greg Hinrichsen donated $10,000 to the effort, a continuation of his ongoing relationship with the Dirksen Center that has included two oral histories about his D.C. experiences in the 1960s (and 2000s, staffing a senator on healthcare-related issues) and annual visits to see us.

Our other sustaining donors this year were:

$5,000
Cassidy and Associates

$2,500
(Darin) LaHood for Congress
ALTO Ingredients

$1,000
Friends of Dave Koehler
OSF HealthCare
Advanced Medical Transport of Central Illinois
Rich and Nancy Kriegsman
Matthew Vonachen

Four other donors provided funds between $500 and $700. Eight further donors contributed between $250 and $350 apiece.

All these gifts help keep the program on strong financial footing and ensure that students for years to come will be able to have a foundational experience in public service.

And, of course, our lasting thanks to our partners at Bradley University who work with us each year on the program. Our interns work hard. In addition to completing their internships, they do BU coursework for the internship as well as for a political science course utilizing in-depth readings that match their Capitol Hill interests. The university grants each intern six tuition-free credit hours upon successful completion of their coursework.

08/10/2026

Everett Dirksen's first Senate re-election bid was ramping up 70 years ago this week when he gained a crucial bit of support from President Dwight Eisenhower via the letter shown here.

Though from the same party, Dirksen's voluble and public support of one of Ike's opponents for the presidential nomination in 1952 didn't endear the two men to one another. Some tensions persisted during the early years of the Eisenhower administration before the two got on the same page.

Both men were on the ballot in the 1956 campaign, and their support of one another was important. (Ike's opponent, after all, was former Illinois Gov. Adlai Stevenson, so having the ticket perform well here made a political statement.)

The cooperation signalled a turn in the political relationship between Dirksen and Eisenhower, something that was reaffirmed later in the fall during the campaign.

After his successful re-election, Dirksen's Senate colleagues voted him in as whip, the No. 2 position in party leadership, where he would interface closely with the White House and push their legislative priorities. That eventually included Eisenhower relying on Dirksen to carry his civil rights program on Capitol Hill as part of what eventually became the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

(Photograph and letter from Everett M. Dirksen Collection.)

08/06/2026

On this date, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the second major piece of civil rights legislation Congress passed in the 1960s.

Here, Sens. Everett Dirksen and Ted Kennedy, along with other colleagues, flank Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield. He holds the vote tally confirming the filibuster staged by segregationists against the legislation earlier in the year had been broken.

The VRA (formally, "An Act to enforce the 15th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States") paid off the promise of the 15th Amendment a full 95 years after its ratification, outlawing tactics used to prevent African Americans from registering or casting ballots.

The bill was jointly introduced and sponsored by Mansfield and Dirksen, a display of unity among the leaders over the importance of the issue. Bipartisan support saw the VRA renewed in 1970, 1975, 1982, 1992, and 2006.

08/05/2026

Making history: In early August 1965, Sen. Dirksen met a pioneering young man from Springfield.

Frank Mitchell eliminated an informal racial barrier when he was named a House page. The 15-year-old was the first African American in the 20th century to serve in the role. He was selected by Rep. Paul Findley, whose congressional district contained part of Abraham Lincoln's old district, and the appointment was celebrated by the Illinois delegation. (Most of the rest of that district, including Dirksen's hometown of Pekin, was represented by Rep. Bob Michel).

Mitchell was named on the day after New York's Sen. Jacob Javits named the first Black 20th century Senate page, Lawrence Wallace Bradford Jr.

Mitchell's tenure included serving during the debate over the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

(Photo from Everett M. Dirksen Collection.)

07/24/2026

Congratulations to Tiffany White, our executive director, on being selected to participate in the prestigious Edgar Fellows program!

Forty-One Emerging Illinois Leaders Selected for 2026 Edgar Fellows Program