In The News
Congress Might Finally Do Something About The Exorbitant Cost Of Prison Phone Calls
For nearly 20 years, Martha Wright-Reed struggled to pay for phone calls with her incarcerated grandson, Ulandis Forte. He was imprisoned too far away for frequent visits, so phone calls were the main way they could stay in touch. But a few 15-minute phone calls a week cost $200 a month, and Wright-Reed found herself choosing between paying for her medication and speaking with her grandson. Wright-Reed has since passed away, and her grandson is no longer in prison. But a bill bearing her name … Continue Reading
April 13, 2022
'Crib bumper' ban passes congress, Biden expected to sign
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A new bill to protect babies from injury is making its way to the President's desk. New legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Rob Portman (R-OH) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) aims to protect infant lives by banning the sale of padded crib bumpers - which have been proven to pose an unnecessary, deadly risk to sleeping infants. The bill passed Congress yesterday and is now headed to the White House to be signed into law by President Joe Biden. … Continue Reading
April 07, 2022
Help for Long COVID? 2 Dems Introduce Bill to Help Those Still Suffering Months Later
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) introduced a new bill Thursday they say will help ensure accessible and affordable medical care and treatment for long COVID patients, including underserved populations. Long COVID is related to a combination of lingering symptoms in patients who recovered from acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. Fatigue, shortness of breath, brain fog, muscle pain and anxiety are just a few debilitating complications attached to the mystery … Continue Reading
April 07, 2022
U.S. Lawmakers Push to Expand Long Covid Treatment
A bill to increase funding for Long Covid treatment and clinics marks the latest push from lawmakers to confront chronic health problems related to the coronavirus that affect millions of Americans. The Treat Long Covid Act is a joint effort from Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, and Representative Ayanna Pressley, a Massachusetts Democrat. Both have been involved in efforts to bolster federal support for Long Covid research, treatment and education. Earlier this week, President … Continue Reading
April 04, 2022
Suburban flooding to be addressed with $1.5M in federal funding
DOLTON, Ill. - Roughly $1.5 million in federal funding is on the way to address sewer repairs in the south suburbs of Dolton, Harvey, Riverdale and west suburban Stone Park. All of these communities have experienced issues with stormwater runoff that has caused flooding and sewage back-ups. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), working with Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin, not only want to mitigate flooding, they also want to protect the environment. "With the help of … Continue Reading
April 03, 2022
Extended Interview: Senator Tammy Duckworth on arming Ukraine, capping cost of insulin, investigating Jan. 6
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (NEXSTAR) - Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) said she intends to push for Congress to approve a nationwide cap on the out-of-pocket cost of insulin before the November election. Duckworth also reacted to calls to arm Ukrainian forces in the war against Russia, calls to investigate the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and the road blocks in access to affordable health care in the Springfield … Continue Reading
March 30, 2022
Exclusive: Widow of D.C. police officer Jeff Smith, who died by suicide, says battling rioters on Jan. 6 "changed him"
The widow of an officer who died by suicide after responding to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol is pressing Congress to pass legislation recognizing the trauma suffered by law enforcement officers who take their own lives, which she told CBS News would be a fitting legacy for her husband. Four officers who responded on Jan. 6 died by suicide within seven months of the attack. Earlier this month, Erin Smith received an email from Washington, D.C., with the result she had spent more than a … Continue Reading
March 28, 2022
U.S. Sen. Duckworth stops by Burr Ridge to celebrate culvert funding
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth stopped by Burr Ridge on Saturday to celebrate securing federal funding for the Elm Street culvert which is expected to prevent flooding and could save the village close to $1 million in construction costs. The funding comes from the America Rescue Plan Act, a pool of federal money set aside to help communities hit hard by COVID-19. The village had long considered replacing the failing bit of infrastructure but with a much smaller and cheaper culvert, about 50 % … Continue Reading
March 26, 2022
The cost of prison phone calls is staggering. Congress has a chance to change that.
Picking up the phone and placing a call in the United States today requires little planning, and not much thought - unless you're in prison or jail, in which case the simple action becomes a tremendous undertaking. Congress now has an opportunity to reduce this burden. The cost to incarcerated people of communicating with the outside world is staggering: A 15-minute conversation with a loved one costs $5.74 on average; in some jurisdictions one minute costs more than one dollar; and that is … Continue Reading
March 25, 2022
Sen. Tammy Duckworth unveils legislation aimed to prevent gas price gouging, hold oil companies accountable
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WMBD) - A U.S. lawmaker is trying to provide relief at the pump and hold oil companies accountable. U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) is introducing the "Gas Price Gouging Prevention Act," looking to hold big oil companies responsible for price gouging. "Our working families are hurting right now," Duckworth told WMBD's Matt Sheehan during On the Record. "There's no question that big oil is gouging right now. The legislation I'm introducing would make it illegal for big oil … Continue Reading
March 25, 2022
Sen. Tammy Duckworth pushes for memorial to working women of World War II - CBS News exclusive
Senator Tammy Duckworth, Democrat of Illinois, knows firsthand the sacrifices of going to war and being a working mom. The Iraq war combat veteran and mother of two is using Women's History Month to make a renewed push for her legislation to establish a memorial in the nation's capital to honor the nearly 18 million women who worked on the home front during World War II. "We know all about the 'Rosie the Riveters' but I think most people are surprised when they hear we haven't honored them," … Continue Reading
March 23, 2022
Illinois senator proposes requiring oil companies to keep prices down
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) - With Americans paying more at the pump, Democrats and Republicans can't agree on the root of the problem and therefore aren't on the same page about solutions. Democrats say the problem is big oil companies. "They're jacking up their prices," Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said. "They're using Putin's unprovoked war as a reason to raise gas prices and increase shareholder and executive payouts. I think it's morally reprehensible." She argued that the companies are … Continue Reading
March 23, 2022
Senate approves bill to ban the sale of crib bumpers for infants
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved a bipartisan measure to ban the sale of crib bumpers, which have been linked to dozens of deaths of infants and more than 100 serious injuries since 1985. "Parents will have one less thing to worry about" when it becomes law, Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois said. The House of Representatives approved a related bill last year but will need to vote on the Senate's Safe Cribs Act before it can head to President Joe Biden's desk. "Crib bumper pads are an … Continue Reading
March 23, 2022
Marine Cpl. Ryan Cummings’ family is hoping the Crystal Lake Post Office will be renamed in his honor
Four years ago, John Cummings met U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth at Abraham Lincoln Cemetery in Elwood, where Cummings' son, Marine Cpl. Ryan J. Cummings, is buried, he said. Cummings, who said he visits the gravesite at least four times a year, asked Duckworth if she was familiar with his son's story. To his surprise, Cummings recalls, Duckworth pulled a photo of Ryan out of her pocket. Family members of Cpl. Ryan J Cummings, pictured above, are trying to get the Crystal Lake Post Office … Continue Reading
March 21, 2022
New Bipartisan Senate Bill Aims to Take Down Crib Bumpers: 'The Key Is Keeping Our Babies Safe'
For parents getting ready to bring a new little one home, there can be a long checklist of considerations and products to get. One of the biggest items on that checklist is the crib where the baby will sleep. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), a mother of two, vividly remembers this experience. She recalls being gifted bedding sets for both of her daughters' cribs. Those sets included crib bumpers, a product that line, and often pad, the perimeter of the crib. Initially, crib bumpers were … Continue Reading
March 08, 2022
Senators push to expand food aid for low-income troops - Roll Call
A bipartisan group of 14 senators is backing new legislation to change the rules for federal nutrition assistance so that more low-income troops and their families qualify. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., a former Army helicopter pilot, told CQ Roll Call she is filing the bill today to alter the rules governing the Agriculture Department's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Her bill would ensure that a servicemember's housing allowance, a stipend to cover most of the cost of an off-base … Continue Reading
March 04, 2022
Group of Bipartisan Senators Press Biden to Expedite Arms to Poland
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators are urging President Joe Biden to expedite a sale of arms to Poland amid Russian President Vladimir Putin's ongoing attack on Ukraine. The senators urged Biden to direct the Department of State and the Department of Defense to "take any steps they can to accelerate" the execution of the $6 billion deal. The plea was made in a letter sent to the president on Friday and signed by Democratic Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin of Illinois, Sherrod Brown … Continue Reading
March 02, 2022
Duckworth says Biden’s State of the Union address was unifying on Ukraine, understanding on pocketbook issues
President Joe Biden delivered his first State of the Union address Tuesday during a time of global unrest, ongoing frustration over rising costs at home and a pandemic that hasn't gone away. U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth said the president delivered a message of unity against Russia and a message of understanding the challenges people in middle America are facing. Appearing on WGLT's Sound Ideas, Duckworth said she was pleased Biden reasserted U.S. support for the "heroic" people of Ukraine as … Continue Reading
February 24, 2022
Sen. Duckworth responds to Russia invading Ukraine
(WAND) - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) has released a statement after Russia invaded Ukraine. Sen. Duckworth is a combat veteran and member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee. She spent 23 years in the Reserve Forces. "The human suffering caused-and any blood spilled-as a result of this unjustified and unjustifiable attack on Ukraine's sovereign territory are solely on Vladimir Putin's hands," Sen. Duckworth said. "Our nation, our NATO allies and all countries who value … Continue Reading
February 22, 2022
The Safe Crib Act is Trying to Put an End to Crib Bumpers Once and For All
When she was about 16 weeks pregnant, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth started planning for her firstborn with joy. After struggling for years with infertility and failed cycles of in vitro fertilization (IVF), she felt anxious, but ready to get the baby's nursery ready. With that came tons of time researching safe sleep for infants. "Then I have a baby shower," she recalls. "I get these beautiful bedding sets as part of my baby shower and inside the bedding sets are crib bumpers. And I remember … Continue Reading
