US Sen. Durbin: ‘I’m not planning on endorsing any particular candidate’

Illinois’ senior senator announced that he is not planning to endorse a candidate who will take his place, but he would in an "extreme case," as he steps down from the position at 80 years old.

"I’m not planning on endorsing any particular candidate," Sen. Dick Durbin told reporters at his home in Springfield. "I hope I don’t have to, but I’m not ruling out the possibility in an extreme case. I just think it’s up to the democratic voters to make this choice moving forward."

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton announced she is running for Durbin’s seat on Thursday morning.

He expects more candidates to be announced.

More: Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton announces US Senate campaign

"You’ve heard some names already, believe me, you’re going to hear me because they’ve been calling over the last several months and talking about the fact that they wouldn’t run against me, but they wanted my blessing to run."

Durbin advised candidates to "work the entire state. Discover downstate if you don’t know it. Discover the suburbs, the surrounding counties… the City of Chicago. Discover the wards and precincts. That’s been one of the real blessings of this job, and I’ll just say it flat out, I was born and raised in East St. Louis and we raised our kids in Springfield, but I love Chicago. And the people who want to bad mouth that town are in for a fight with me."

More: The nation’s longest-serving party whip, Dick Durbin of Illinois, will not run in 2026

Tom Ackerman covers breaking news and trending news along with general news for the Springfield State Journal-Register. He can be reached at tackerman@gannett.com.