U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk have struck a deal over federal district court nominations.

The politics surrounding federal judicial nominations have become increasingly bitter over the years, but Illinois' two U.S. senators have worked out a cooperative arrangement that should serve the state well.

They've agreed to share the power to make nominations for federal district court posts. The U.S. senator from the same party as the president — in this case Democrat Durbin — gets to make three out of every four trial court nominations. The U.S. senator from the party not holding the White House — Republican Kirk — gets every fourth choice.

This arrangement, which also was in place when Durbin and Republican U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald held office under President George W. Bush, allows each party to play a role in selecting judicial nominees and should help ease the sometimes difficult confirmation process.

Both senators this week released the names of their choices for four federal judgeships in the Northern District of Illinois.

Durbin submitted to the White House the names of four individuals that he's asking President Obama to consider for two openings. Kirk released the names of three nominees for one open position.

It's no secret that Republicans and Democrats have been at war for years over judicial nominations, mostly focusing on nominees for appellate and Supreme Court seats. But this battle has more recently started to include nominees for trial court posts.

There's no guarantee that Illinois' judicial nominees won't get caught up in that. But the cooperative relationship between Durbin and Kirk makes it less likely that will happen.