In The News
US senator makes 4th trip to Taiwan
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — US Senator Tammy Duckworth is visiting Taiwan from Wednesday to Thursday, marking her fourth trip to the country while in office, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Duckworth will meet with President Lai Ching-te (???), Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (???), and Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (???), per MOFA. Discussions will cover foreign affairs, defense, economic and trade policy, as well as the security situation in the Taiwan Strait and the broader … Continue Reading
June 07, 2025
Veterans Crisis Line Employees Were Caught in Mass Firings. A New Bill Aims for Staff Protections
Firing Veterans Crisis Line employees would trigger notifications to Congress under a bill being introduced by a Democratic senator aiming to give those employees more protections against being terminated. The bill comes after the Department of Veterans Affairs acknowledged in a letter to senators last month that 24 support employees at the suicide helpline were "erroneously" told they were being let go during mass Trump administration firings at the beginning of the year. The VA sent the … Continue Reading
May 28, 2025
US Sen. Duckworth visits Taiwan to discuss regional security and trade
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Strongly pro-Taiwan U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth is visiting the self-governing island democracy to discuss regional security and relations with the U.S. Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, will hold a series of high-level meetings with senior Taiwan leaders to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations during her visit Wednesday and Thursday, said the American Institute in Taiwan, which acts as the de-facto American embassy in Taiwan in liu of formal diplomatic relations. Trade, … Continue Reading
May 27, 2025
Sen. Tammy Duckworth heads to Taiwan, Singapore in bid to 'close the deal' for quantum campus
Sen. Tammy Duckworth on Tuesday embarked on a six-day trip to Taiwan and Singapore, where she hopes to “close the deal” on a partnership with Foxconn’s research arm at Chicago’s new quantum algorithm center. Duckworth is on her 13th Congressional Member Delegation trip since 2018 — and this trip marks her 11th trip to Asia. She told the Sun-Times her main goal in Taiwan will be to push Hon Hai — better known as Foxconn — to invest in the soon-to-be-constructed Illinois Quantum and … Continue Reading
May 21, 2025
AmeriCorps cuts leave Chicago programs serving kids facing diminished summer
In the shadow of the carousel at an otherwise empty Lincoln Park Zoo, a crowd of children rushing ahead of their families shrieked as they saw two grown-ups dressed as Superman and Supergirl. The superheroes’ sighting checked off a scavenger hunt box on an evening when the zoo was closed to everyone except the hundreds of families served by Chicago HOPES for Kids, a nonprofit organization that provides academic support to children experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity. Outings … Continue Reading
May 21, 2025
Durbin, Duckworth concerned about cuts to care at hospitals recently acquired by Prime Healthcare
JOLIET, Ill. (WLS) -- Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth were raising concerns Wednesday about cuts to the level of care at some local hospitals. The hospitals are now owned by Prime Healthcare. They were recently purchased from Ascension. A spokesperson for Prime Healthcare says the for-profit company's model is centered on investing in hospitals. But nurses at St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet say, since the company acquired the hospital, they've instead seen cutbacks to … Continue Reading
May 20, 2025
Is Sauget air pollution harming people? CDC suggests a deeper EPA probe
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has completed an investigation into whether air pollution in Sauget is harming people, with a particular focus on the emissions from a hazardous waste incinerator there. An estimated 878 people live within a 1-mile radius of the 35-acre Veolia North America-Trade Waste Incineration facility. The closest residential areas are about half a mile southeast of the facility in Cahokia Heights. The national public health agency was able to provide them … Continue Reading
May 17, 2025
Duckworth hosts veterans town hall in Crystal Lake
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, talked about veterans but also bipartisan legislation and other issues at a Crystal Lake town hall Saturday morning. Duckworth, a U.S. Army veteran who served in the Iraq War, focused the town hall, which was held at the IBEW Local 117 hall, on veterans and veterans issues. [ VA responds to Duckworth town hall in Crystal Lake ] David Trost of McHenry asked Duckworth about Medicare and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and other similar programs, … Continue Reading
May 16, 2025
Sen. Duckworth criticizes Trump's plans to accept new plane from Qatar and cut staff at the VA
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth spoke Friday on several recent developments concerning the Trump administration, including President Trump’s plan to accept a Boeing jet from Qatar and recent moves on aviation and veterans programs. The royal family of Qatar offered to give a jet to Trump, which he would use as the new Air Force One and then take with him once his term ends. Trump said he would put the jet at his future presidential library and it would not be for personal use. Duckworth was not a … Continue Reading
May 15, 2025
Chinese faucets recalled over potential chemical hazards
The federal government is warning Americans not to buy cheap knockoff faucets online that could leach harmful chemicals and heavy metals into their drinking water. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said Wednesday that it’s recalling four Chinese-made faucets sold on Amazon over unsafe levels of lead exposure. It said the lead can be especially harmful for babies, young children and pregnant women. The recalls come after American faucet brand Moen noticed cheap foreign-made faucets for … Continue Reading
May 15, 2025
Democrats question Hegseth on Trump’s Qatar jet security risks
Several Democratic senators are questioning Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over President Trump’s acceptance of a jet from Qatar, stressing in a letter the national security risks and counterintelligence concerns inherent in such a transaction. “The American people deserve to understand this administration’s plans for securing this aircraft, the vulnerabilities its use will present to our national security and the price tag they will be asked to pay for President Trump’s decision to integrate … Continue Reading
May 07, 2025
Duckworth announces legislation protecting VA jobs
May 04, 2025
Sen. Tammy Duckworth says Mike Waltz will have a "brutal hearing" for U.N. ambassador
Washington — Sen. Tammy Duckworth said Sunday that she expects Mike Waltz to have a "brutal hearing" for U.N. ambassador after his surprise departure last week from his post as President Trump's national security adviser. "He's not qualified for the job, just by nature of the fact that he participated in this Signal chain," Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan." Duckworth argued that everyone in the group chat where the timing and targets of … Continue Reading
April 29, 2025
Duckworth: Trump making Americans weaker, sicker, less secure
DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) - One hundred days into Trump’s second term lawmakers are split on where the country is headed. Illinois Democrat Sen. Tammy Duckworth said in Trump’s first 100 days he made Americans weaker, sicker and less secure. “Middle-class families, service members, veterans are all paying the price for his disastrous policies. Not only are grocery prices high, but we’re also seeing that all the veterans that he’s fired from their jobs, all the federal workers, have been fired … Continue Reading
April 22, 2025
Senate Democrats press Hegseth for answers on Trump order to ban transgender troops
More than a dozen Senate Democrats have signed onto a letter demanding a status update from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth over the military's treatment of transgender servicemembers. The letter, drafted by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and first obtained by NPR, calls for Hegseth to explain to lawmakers how the Pentagon is complying with two separate federal court rulings blocking President Trump's executive order attempting to ban transgender troops from military service. Duckworth, an … Continue Reading
April 21, 2025
Duckworth: Hegseth endangering troops with ‘singular stupidity’
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) a former Black Hawk helicopter pilot and combat veteran, said Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s “singular stupidity” is putting troops in harm’s way and demanded his resignation — after a new report alleges the secretary shared detailed military plans in a group chat that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer. “How many times does Pete Hegseth need to leak classified intelligence before Donald Trump and Republicans understand that he isn’t only a … Continue Reading
April 17, 2025
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth hammers President Donald Trump over veterans’ care in 'The Daily Show' interview
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, put jokes aside when she appeared on the political satire The Daily Show this week as she criticized the Trump administration’s treatment of veterans. The Trump administration last month sent out a memo that revealed plans for a reorganization of the Department of Veterans Affairs which included cutting more than 80,000 jobs. Duckworth, who herself is a veteran who served in the Iraq War, said the cuts would impact health care for veterans and their … Continue Reading
April 15, 2025
“It’s My Turn on the Line”
When she spoke to Chicago in late March, a couple of months into the second Trump administration, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth was frank about her state of mind. “I’ve been having a hard time,” she said. “I keep being disappointed by people that I thought would stand up.” But disappointment does not equal resignation. The former army pilot is first and foremost a soldier, and her commitment to the so-called warrior ethos — to always placing the mission first and to never accepting defeat, … Continue Reading
April 13, 2025
Why Trump's pattern of purging our highest-performing military officers is dangerous
"Our standards will be high, uncompromising and clear." --Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s Message to the Force, January 25, 2025 President Donald Trump’s pick for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Lt. Gen. Dan Caine (retired), possesses an extraordinary record of service—in Iraq, in special access programs and in the National Guard. There is no question of his capacity to lead, devotion to our country, character, courage or competence. But those aren’t the qualifications … Continue Reading
April 11, 2025
Public Health Service officers would receive military leave benefits under bipartisan bill
Commissioned officers of the U.S. Public Health Service and their beneficiaries could be eligible for expanded leave benefits under a bicameral bill that Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., is reintroducing — this time with bipartisan support in the Senate and House. “I just think that people don't understand what the Public Health Service does,” Duckworth said in an interview with Government Executive. “They are a uniform service. They are the people that when there's a disaster, when there's a … Continue Reading