By Neil Doyle

BLOOMINGTON – Lawmakers and people across the country are paying their respects to the civil rights icon and late Congressman John Lewis of Georgia.

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) spent some personal time with Lewis on a trip to Selma, Alabama, where Lewis almost died while marching during the civil rights movement.

“Something as simple as standing with John on that bridge and him explaining what it was look when those troppers turned on him and bashed him in the head and he fell to the ground, that is something I will never forget,” Durbin told WJBC’s Scott Miller.

“He was an amazing individual, a real inspiring person, and a real humble man. We are going to miss him,” Durbin added.

Lewis’ body lies in state at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. He became the first Black lawmaker to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]