SPRINGFIELD - Even before Jerry Weller was the lone U.S. congressman to miss Monday's vote on the ill-fated financial bailout, his office was showing signs of his pending retirement. | Interactive Video: Create your own 11th Congressional District debate

Weller, who earns nearly $170,000, still has three months remaining in his term, but a spokesman said Wednesday that most constituents seeking help from the Morris Republican are being referred to U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Barack Obama.

"There are still some new cases we will open and many times complete in relatively short order - emergency payments, things of a dire nature generally," noted Weller spokesman Andy Fuller in an e-mail.

The offices of congressmen often juggle thousands of cases for constituents, interceding with the federal government on issues ranging from Social Security payments to Veterans Affairs issues.

Fuller said longer term cases will either be handled by the state's senators or will be in limbo until after the Nov. 4 election, when voters in the 11th Congressional District will choose Weller's successor.

Democrat Debbie Halvorson of Crete, Republican Martin Ozinga of Homer Glen and Green Party candidate Jason Wallace of Normal are vying for the post.

If Weller's office has open cases after the election, a letter will go out notifying people of the status and letting them know the name of the newly elected representative.

"The letter will also provide contact information for the senators' offices should they want to pursue their case with them," Fuller noted.

Weller's whereabouts after missing Monday's vote were a mystery. The congressman has homes in Morris, Washington D.C. and Guatemala, where his wife and daughter, 2, live.

On Wednesday, Fuller said the congressman was in Morris on Monday "tending to a family matter."

In addition to phasing out the operation of his constituent service offices, Weller also has missed about 24 percent of the votes in Congress in the past year, according to www.govtrack.us.

Fuller said Weller was in the process of returning to Washington, D.C., in order to be available to vote on a financial bailout package if an agreement is reached.