Chris Balkema

Chris Balkema won a special election last year in the 53rd Senate District, a large, mostly rural district north of Bloomington-Normal. It stretches from the Peoria area to the Indiana border.

Many new lawmakers come to government with big dreams but often find they have little power. This is how several first-time Central Illinois lawmakers learned how to enact change in their own ways.

State senators voted unanimously, 55-0, this week to ban carbon sequestration near the Mahomet Aquifer. That's the sole source of water for nearly 1 million people in the region, including much of McLean County.

After months of community engagement, the Illinois House and Senate are endorsing a bill that would ban carbon sequestration near the Mahomet Aquifer.

State Sen. Chris Balkema, who represents northern McLean County and parts of Livingston County, was sworn into office Wednesday on the refurbished Illinois Senate floor.