U.S. Senator Dick Durbin

The 80-year-old Democrat told WBEZ in an Illinois exclusive that age was a factor in his not seeking a sixth term in Congress.

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton on Monday is launching her Level Up federal political action committee to build up her political operation and bolster a potential Senate run.

The U.S. Senate voted in January to confirm Normal Mayor Chris Koos' appointment to the Amtrak Board of Directors. Koos said he's already been to his first board meeting since then.

The senior senator from Illinois said he has concerns about enforcement of the new code of conduct for Supreme Court justices.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is mixing into the unionization effort at the Rivian electric vehicle plant in Normal. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace workers is trying to organize the plant. Durbin says he has met with Rivian CEO R-J Scaringe and told him the company should support unionizing efforts.

Sandhya Ganapathy, CEO of EDP Renewables North America, says the new hires will get 10 days of classroom and hands-on training at the site.

The Senate Appropriations Committee has advanced spending bills that include money for the McLean County Historical Society. The measure includes $550,000 to help the Museum of History continue making online copies of photo negatives from The Pantagraph newspaper archives.

The Bloomington-Normal Water Reclamation District is moving toward issuing $100 million in bonds for improvements to sewage treatment and runoff in the area. District executive director Tim Ervin said that is roughly a third of a larger effort to modernize the system and comply with tighter federal standards on phosphorous and other nutrient emissions.

Bloomington Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe met with U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., on Tuesday to discuss several projects the city will likely require some federal funding to complete.

The U.S. Senate has confirmed an Illinois Wesleyan University graduate as a new federal judge in the central district of Illinois.