Senator Dick Durbin says he needs to learn more about Stephen M. Dickson, President Trump’s nominee to head the Federal Aviation Administration before deciding if he’ll vote to confirm him. But the Illinois Democrat says having any nominee at all is progress.

The partial government shutdown hasn't disrupted operations at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois yet, but  their super computer rellies on funding from the National Science Foundation, which is currently closed. 

An Illinois congressman says lightweight drones designed for the hobby market should be free of the federal regulations governing bigger models for commercial and military use.