Located at 219 S. Dearborn, one of the three federal buildings that make up federal plaza in Chicago. The other two are the Kluczynski Building and the United States Post Office. All three buildings are very spare archectually; build in the Mies Van Der Rohe style. The whole plaza has been in total lockdown mode since September 11.
The building is named after Everett Dirksen (1896-1969), a Republican Senator from Illinois from 1951 until his death. He was a major supporter of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The building is also one of the few things in Chicago named after a Republican other than Abraham Lincoln. The Eisenhower Expressway is the only other thing that comes to mind.
The Dirksen has also always been known for having the most annoying security in the city. Every time I go in there's always some kind of hassle. The metal detectors are the touchiest I have ever seen, they’ll probably go off if you even think about metal. The security in the Daley Center is a total joke in comparison.