U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin announced Wednesday he will not seek a sixth term in the U.S. Senate, setting off a scramble for a rare open seat that will reshape Illinois politics.

Chicago has a new interim top federal prosecutor as Andrew Boutros took his oath of office and was sworn in Monday as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker took to the Senate floor on Monday evening, saying he would remain there as long as he was “physically able.” More than 24 hours later, the 55-year-old senator, a former football tight end, was still going.

Sen. Roger Wicker, the Republican chair of the committee, and Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat, signed onto a letter to the acting inspector general at the Department of Defense for an inquiry into the potential “use of unclassified networks to discuss sensitive and classified information, as well as the sharing of such information with those who do not have proper clearance and need to know.”

After Sen. Chuck Schumer announced Thursday that he would reluctantly support the bill, he bore the brunt of that anger, including a protest at his office, calls from progressives that he be primaried in 2028 and suggestions that the Democratic Party would soon be looking for new leaders.

The 66-year-old’s unexpected decision Tuesday to step aside after just two terms comes as a surprise and poses a challenge for Democrats in Michigan during a turbulent period, likely dividing their strong bench between the gubernatorial and Senate races in 2026.

The U.S. Senate has approved the reauthorization through 2031 of a federal program that provides crucial funding for restoration and protection of Great Lakes ecosystems. Now it’s up to the U.S. House to do the same.

Chuck Schumer faced no opposition in the party leadership elections, in which Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin was also reelected to the No. 2 spot and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar became the new No. 3. 

As President-elect Donald Trump moves to set up a more forceful presidency than in his first term, he is choosing loyalists for his Cabinet and considering a tool known as recess appointments to skip over Senate confirmations for even some of the most powerful positions in U.S. government.

President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet choices are provoking backlash from the two Illinois Democrats whose positions give them power to take part in approving, or denying, Cabinet appointments.

A unified Republican grip on Washington would set the course for Trump’s agenda. Or if Democrats wrest control of the House, it would provide an almost certain backstop, with veto power over the White House.

The Senate vote was Democrats’ latest attempt to force Republicans into a defensive stance on women’s health issues and highlight policy differences between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in the presidential race, especially as Trump has called himself a “ leader on IVF.”

While Harris has improved on President Joe Biden’s standing in many states — putting Nevada and Arizona back in play, for example — the basic shape of the crucial Senate races that will determine the majority is the same. Democrats were overperforming the top of the ticket when Biden was the nominee and they still are under Harris.

In her first congressional hearing over the July 13 assassination attempt, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle repeatedly angered lawmakers by evading questions, citing ongoing investigations. She called the attempt on Trump’s life the Secret Service’s “most significant operational failure” in decades.

U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood called on Illinois Republicans to get out the vote for congressional candidates hoping to increase the state’s GOP representation from the current three seats they currently occupy.

The jury’s verdict followed a nine-week trial in which prosecutors said the Democrat abused the power of his office to protect allies from criminal investigations and enrich associates, including his wife, through acts that included meeting with Egyptian intelligence officials and helping that country access millions of dollars in U.S. military aid.