SPRINGFIELD — U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin isn’t quite ready to talk about his future.

He made that clear to reporters who peppered him with questions following events earlier this week in East St. Louis and Springfield, where he instead spoke about the consequences of cuts to safety net programs like Social Security, and of the imposition of blanket tariffs on friends and foes alike.

But sometimes in politics, money does all the talking.

Durbin raised just $42,695 during the first three months of 2025, according to a quarterly fundraising report filed with the Federal Elections Commission earlier this week. The report is figuratively giving voice to longstanding speculation that the 80-year-old will opt to retire instead of seeking reelection in 2026.

Durbin, for what it’s worth, downplayed the small amount, joking with a reporter who asked if there are tea leaves to be read that, “Well, if you want to send me a check, I’ll give you an address.”

And a campaign spokesperson also reiterated that Durbin, who has about $1.63 million cash on hand, “remains an active fundraiser.”

"He has been actively helping out his colleagues that are in cycle, has scheduled his annual Prairie PAC weekend in Chicago this June, is sending out digital fundraising asks on a normal schedule, and held his latest public fundraising event on March 24 in D.C.," the spokesperson said.

Durbin said he will make an announcement on his 2026 plans “soon.”

He could decide to run again. As the No. 2 Senate Democrat, he can raise campaign cash quickly. And despite some evidence that his party’s base is in search of generational change, Durbin would be the heavy favorite to win both the Democratic primary and the general election.

That being said, Durbin’s latest fundraising numbers, to state the obvious, are not those of someone who is gearing up for reelection. At least that is the prevailing thought both inside the beltway and in political circles in Illinois.

Just look to six years ago for a comparison. Durbin raised more than $500,000 and had about $2.4 million in the bank during the same fundraising quarter before his reelection campaign in 2020, according to the FEC.

Durbin ultimately raised and spent more than $10 million in that election cycle, underscoring the fact that even in a deep blue state like Illinois, where he ran unopposed in the primary and had a noncompetitive general election matchup, campaigns are multimillion-dollar enterprises.

This is understood by the would-be candidates lining up to run for Durbin’s seat should he retire.

U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Schaumburg, raised $3.1 million last quarter, bringing his campaign war chest to an eye-popping $19.4 million. Again, money talks. Krishnamoorthi has long been pegged as a future Senate candidate with his outsized bank account. And that’s only been reinforced by his frequent travel to parts of Illinois that lay far outside his suburban Chicago congressional district.

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Matteson, also believed to be eyeing Durbin’s seat, announced raising about $186,000. She has about $2 million in her campaign account.

U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Naperville, who recently sent out a fundraising email featuring a poll showing her leading a hypothetical Senate primary in which Durbin isn’t a candidate, raised about $393,000 and had about $1.11 million in the bank.

Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who told Lee Enterprises in March that she would be interested in the Senate race should Durbin retire, opened a federal political action committee called “Level Up” in January. Fundraising numbers for the PAC were not available.

It is safe to say that as it pertains to 2026 in the world of Illinois politics, all eyes are on Durbin and, to a lesser extent, Gov. JB Pritzker, who has yet to say whether or not he will seek a third term as the state’s chief executive in 2026. 

Both Durbin and Pritzker declined to participate in the Cook County Democratic Party’s pre-slating session earlier this week. The session was for candidates to make their pitch to committeepeople in the state’s most populous county ahead of slating for the 2026 Democratic primary later this summer.

Many are eagerly awaiting their decisions.

The widespread belief in state political circles is that Pritzker, a potential Democratic candidate for president in 2028, will run for reelection in 2026.

With that, talk about the governor’s race has largely focused on if the state’s struggling Republican Party will be able to mount a viable candidate to run against Pritzker, a self-funding billionaire businessman-turned-politician. 

But on the Senate side, Durbin’s advanced age and sagging fundraising continue to drive the belief that he will ultimately retire.

And the shadow primary has been talking shape for months as candidates raise money, appear at political events across the state and seek to line up support among key power brokers and constituencies in the case Durbin doesn’t run.  

Just last weekend, Kelly, Krishnamoorthi and Stratton all appeared at the Rock Island County Democrats’ annual fundraising dinner. "All three were strong" and "received a few standing ovations" from the audience of 325, according to Porter McNeil, a Quad Cities-based Democratic political consultant.

Durbin appeared too, but via recorded video. 

What is playing out now is an awkward dance as candidates gear up for what would likely be a crowded, bruising open primary, while not stepping on Durbin’s toes as he makes his decision. 

Again, Durbin could decide to run again and lay waste to, or at least delay, the best laid plans of those who would like to succeed him. 

But, his fundraising says a lot. Pick whatever cliché phrase you want. "Money is the mother’s milk of politics," as the late former California Assembly Speaker Jesse Unruh put it. Or, more succinctly, "follow the money," a phrase popularized by the 1976 film "All the President’s Men." 

Either way, money tells a story, even if no one’s talking. 

Two Central Illinois members of Congress continue to post impressive fundraising numbers. 

U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, raised more than $538,000 last quarter, bringing her campaign war chest to $2.1 million. U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Peoria, raised more than $824,000 and has nearly $5.9 million in the bank.

Budzinski has already announced her intention to seek reelection. 

Many Illinois Republicans would like to see LaHood give the Senate race a look if Durbin retires. But the politically astute Republican is more likely to run for reelection to his heavily Republican House seat than mount a statewide campaign in deep blue Illinois in a challenging midterm year.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Moline, raised nearly $326,000 last quarter. He has about $322,000 on hand. He started the cycle with only $113,000 after spending nearly $5 million in the 2024 campaign cycle. 

Sorensen represents Illinois’ 17th Congressional District, which is the state’s most competitive. However, Sorensen was not included in an initial "target" list released by the House Republican campaign arm earlier this year, indicating that, at least for now, he is off the national radar. 

Down in Southern Illinois, U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, raised about $148,000 last quarter, bringing his total cash on hand to $350,000. 

Bost won his primary in 2024 by less than 3,000 votes against former gubernatorial candidate and state Sen. Darren Bailey, who has not yet made his 2026 plans known.

Bailey, however, did no fundraising last quarter and had just $1.18 in his federal campaign account, per his filing with the FEC. His state account had just $2,805, according to the Illinois Board of Elections. 

Among Illinois’ statewide constitutional officers, the big fundraisers were Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias and Comptroller Susana Mendoza.

Giannoulias raked in $527,000 and has $3.73 million on hand, while Mendoza raised $323,000 and has $1.35 million in the bank. Both have been mentioned as potential candidates for mayor of Chicago in 2027 against incumbent Brandon Johnson. 

Attorney General Kwame Raoul raised $84,000 and has $1.17 million in his account. He announced last month plans to seek reelection.

Treasurer Mike Frerichs raised $10,000 and has $1.1 million in his account.

Stratton raised just $12,000 and has only $97,000 in her state account. But, she is believed to be focusing her fundraising efforts on her federal PAC ahead of a potential run for Senate. 

Pritzker only reported raising $391 last quarter. But he is a self-funder who can drop millions into his campaign coffers on a whim. He most recently cut a check for $13 million last August. He currently has $3.44 million in his account.