Dirksen Congressional Center

The Dirksen Congressional Center promotes research and scholarship to advance the public understanding of the U.S. Congress. Named for Everett McKinley Dirksen (1896-1969) and located in his hometown of Pekin, Illinois, The Center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization. Dirksen served in the U.S. House from 1933-1948, the U.S. Senate from 1951-1969, and as Minority Leader of the Senate from 1959 until his death in September 1969. The Center holds over 200 archival collections, including the papers of every U.S. Representative from central Illinois’s 18th congressional district (and its predecessors) since 1933. The Center has awarded over $1,100,000 in grants to more than 500 scholars conducting research about Congress since 1978 and an additional $850,000 for such special projects as publications, conferences, workshops, and directed research. THE CENTER PROMOTES RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP TO ADVANCE THE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE U.S. CONGRESS Mission Statement The Dirksen Congressional Center promotes research and scholarship to advance the public understanding of the U.S. Congress. The current mission as expressed by the Board of Directors To finance and maintain the creation of a wing of the City Library of Pekin, Illinois, to house, display, and preserve the public letters, books, records, pictures, medals, and other materials associated with the public service of Everett McKinley Dirksen as citizen, soldier, and public servant; and to make such endowments for the study and dissemination of the art and science of public service as shall seem fitting. The mission as stated in the bylaws of the Everett McKinley Dirksen Endowment Fund, adopted November 14, 1963