Sen. Dick Durbin undergoes hip replacement surgery
OAK BROOK, Ill. (CBS) -- U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) was recovering Thursday evening after undergoing hip replacement surgery.
Durbin underwent the surgery on his left hip at the Rush Oak Brook Surgery Center.
"Today, I had a routine hip replacement surgery in Chicago," Durbin said in a news release. "I'm grateful to the medical staff at Rush for today's successful procedure, and I look forward to a speedy recovery and climbing the Capitol steps again as soon as possible."
The release said Durbin will remain in Illinois until he is cleared for travel back to Washington, D.C. by his doctor.
Durbin, 79, was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996—following the retirement of his late friend and mentor U.S. Sen. Paul Simon. He serves as the Senate Majority Whip—a leadership position to which his Democratic colleagues have elected him every two years since 2005—and is also chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Durbin previously served seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, beginning in 1982.