THE ILLINOIZE: Life after Durbin...Mapes...Collins...McCann

February 13, 2024

Good morning, Illinois.

I’m back in this morning on WMAY in Springfield from 6am-9am. Jon Seidel, the federal courts reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times hops on to discuss the Tim Mapes sentencing. Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (D-Springfield) is also scheduled to join. Illinois Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Lou Sandoval will join us, too. Listen online at www.wmay.com.

Governor Pritzker will be in Rockford at 9:30 and East Moline at 12:45 discussing “Smart Start initiatives.”

The General Assembly is out until next Tuesday.

There’s some story clipping below because I can’t be in three places at once. Forgive me.

Let’s get to it.

WHAT DOES LIFE AFTER DURBIN LOOK LIKE?

After another quarter of below average fundraising, chatter in Democratic circles continues to pick up about the future plans of Sen. Dick Durbin, and if the longtime Senator will seek re-election in 2026.

Durbin, will turn 82 a few days after the 2026 election, raised just $106,000 in the fourth quarter of 2023 and has about $1.7 million in the bank. Meanwhile, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who just won another term in 2022 and wouldn’t seek re-election until 2028, raised $426,000 in the forth quarter of last year and reported around $1.9 million in the bank.

In conversations with more than a dozen Democrats in recent days, some current and former elected officials, others insiders or consultants, it appears a potential field to replace Durbin would be “insane,” as one consultant put it.