CHICAGO – Pressure intensified Monday on U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. to answer questions about a medical condition that has had him on leave for weeks, with the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat saying Jackson has a responsibility to give the public an update about his situation “soon.”

Sen. Dick Durbin’s comments at an unrelated Chicago event echoed those made by his fellow Illinois Democrat’s political opponents and voters since Jackson announced a medical leave without disclosing his location or detailing a specific condition.

“As a public official, there comes a point when you have a responsibility to tell the public what’s going on,” Durbin said. “If there is some medical necessity for him not to say more at this moment than I will defer to that. But he will have to soon make a report on what he’s struggling with.”