BYRON, Ill. (WTVO) — The future of an industry that was once a thriving part of the Illinois economy remains up in the air.

Lawmakers failed to reach a deal with nuclear power plant owners during Monday night’s sessions.

Senator Dick Durbin has been vocal on the issue. He says half the state’s electricity used to come from power plants but, as the national energy conversation moves away from coal and zeros in on natural gas, that’s left a big sector of the state wondering what’s next.

“What is the role of nuclear power in the future? Well, for one thing, it doesn’t create greenhouse gas emissions and it provides electricity. But, it has its own challenge what we’re going to do with the waste. Well, the people that are running the nuclear power plants are trying to envision what their future is, and the economics aren’t what they used to be,” said Sen. Durbin (D-IL).

Durbin says it is unlikely the Statehouse will reach a deal on nuclear plants this week.