In The News
Durbin, Duckworth ask federal VA to ensure Illinois veterans homes have proper disease planning, protocols after stinging report on LaSalle home, where 36 died from COVID-19
Democratic U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth on Monday asked for federal assistance to ensure Illinois veterans homes have proper infectious disease planning and protocols in place following the release of a stinging report detailing large-scale mismanagement at the LaSalle Veterans Home, where 36 residents died of COVID-19. In a letter to U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough, the two Illinois senators noted the federal VA was part of on-site inspections with state … Continue Reading
May 03, 2021
Lawmakers tee up proposals to improve military child care facilities, address barriers to care
WASHINGTON - Lawmakers are teeing up legislative proposals that would tackle child care problems in the military, as thousands of children remain on monthslong waitlists and the Defense Department's backlog to repair existing facilities swells. The Defense Department, along with experts and military advocacy groups, have recognized high-quality child care as a retention and readiness issue for service members. The coronavirus pandemic also has exacerbated the problem, as some child care … Continue Reading
April 29, 2021
Senate passes bipartisan $35B water infrastructure bill
A bipartisan bill to boost funding for states' water infrastructure passed the Senate 89-2 Thursday, sending it to the House of Representatives. The measure, the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021, would put $35 billion toward state water infrastructure programs. It authorizes gradual increases in funding for state water infrastructure systems from fiscal 2022 through 2026, beginning with $2.4 billion and ending with $3.25 billion. The bill, written by Sen. Tammy … Continue Reading
April 29, 2021
Bill would create allowance for military families with food insecurity
Thousands of military families face food insecurity, but the way the Department of Agriculture calculates eligibility for federal benefits is locking many of them out of assistance. A group of lawmakers are hoping to change that with the Military Hunger Prevention Act, reintroduced Thursday by Sens. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. The law would create a “basic needs allowance” for low-income military families who would otherwise qualify for the USDA’s Supplemental … Continue Reading
April 29, 2021
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth Expounds On Environmental Agenda
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, joined Politically Speaking, talking with St. Louis Public Radio’s Eric Schmid, Jia Lian Yang and Lauren Brown about her environmental justice legislation. Duckworth was first elected to the Senate in 2016, defeating incumbent Republican Mark Kirk in a landslide. Before becoming a senator, Duckworth served in the House for four years representing a suburban Chicago district. She’s up for reelection in 2022. Here’s what Duckworth talked about on the … Continue Reading
April 28, 2021
Nearly $22M awarded for rural water infrastructure in Ill.
ILLINOIS (KFVS) - On April 28, U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced $21,954,500 in federal funding to help improve water service, quality, access and sanitation in rural communities throughout Illinois. The funding comes from the Water and Environmental Program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Office of Rural Development. "Every Illinoisan should have access to clean and safe drinking water. This funding will provide our downstate … Continue Reading
April 28, 2021
Duckworth Pushes $35B Investment in Water Infrastructure
During his first address to Congress on Wednesday, President Joe Biden spoke to a serious health concern spurred by aging infrastructure: Americans' access to clean drinking water. "Today, up to 10 million homes in America and more than 400,000 schools and child care centers have pipes with lead in them - including drinking water," Biden said. "A clear and present danger to our children's health." The issue hits hard, especially at home. Illinois has more lead service pipes than any other … Continue Reading
April 27, 2021
SW Illinois Rural Expressway Gets a Nod from Sen. Duckworth
A proposed four-lane rural expressway connecting southern Illinois to the St. Louis Metropolitan Area is getting support from Illinois U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.Duckworth, a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, recently met virtually with southwest Illinois leaders to discuss the Southwest Illinois Connector Highway Project. Illinois' junior senator says the project would help ease the bottleneck of traffic on Interstate 57 and boost the region's … Continue Reading
April 26, 2021
Duckworth makes waves
en. Tammy Duckworth, for the first time in her career, sits in a congressional majority. And she's making the most of it. Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat up for reelection next year, holds no committee chairmanships and isn't in congressional leadership. But only three months into the Democrats' majority, the first-termer is racking up legislative wins in the narrowly divided chamber and extracting concessions from the White House. "I have a very long list of things I want to get done," … Continue Reading
April 22, 2021
No child should be exposed to pollutants just by drinking water from the kitchen tap
The water was brown - a murky, mud-like, tragic brown. Until that moment, I had never even considered that a color could be tragic in itself. It was years ago, in the middle of a House Oversight Committee hearing on the Flint water crisis. At the time, my older daughter was just a year old. I remember looking out into the audience and seeing a mom holding a baby bottle that looked exactly like the one my baby drank out of - a little bottle, with a pink top. Unlike my daughter's bottle, … Continue Reading
April 22, 2021
Bill to combat hate crimes against Asian Americans passes Senate with bipartisan support
The Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation Thursday designed to more forcefully investigate hate crimes, particularly those against Asian Americans after the March 16 shootings at three Atlanta spas and a wave of violence following the spread of the coronavirus from China last year "To our Asian American friends: We will not tolerate bigotry against you. And to those perpetrating anti-Asian bigotry: We will pursue you to the fullest extent of the law. We cannot - we cannot - allow … Continue Reading
April 21, 2021
There's a new push to ban the sale of crib bumpers
As a new mom, it can be hard to keep track of what's safe and unsafe for baby—especially when items like crib bumpers, which have been linked to dozens of pediatric deaths, are sold in stores across the country. Lawmakers are working to make things a little less confusing. This week, Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Rob Portman (R-OH) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) proposed the Safe Cribs Act, which is a bill that would ban the sale of crib bumpers. According to … Continue Reading
April 20, 2021
Bipartisan bill would ban crib bumpers, linked to dozens of infant deaths
Three senators, two Democrats and one Republican, are set to introduce legislation Tuesday that would ban the sale of crib bumpers, which have been linked to dozens of deaths and more than 100 serious injuries of sleeping infants since 1985. Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut are cosponsoring the Safe Cribs Act, which would require the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission to ban the … Continue Reading
April 19, 2021
Sen. Tammy Duckworth on Hate Crimes, Racism, And Environmental Justice
Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) has been tackling racism on multiple fronts recently, particularly against Asian Americans. A bill aimed at curbing anti-Asian hate crimes during the pandemic finally picked up bipartisan support last week, which Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) sponsored and Duckworth supported. And following criticism from Duckworth and Hirono on a lack of Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in his cabinet, President Joe Biden last … Continue Reading
April 16, 2021
Tammy Duckworth: As eligibility opens up, get vaccinated
This week, our state reached an important milestone in our efforts to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic: as of Monday, every Illinoisan 16 and up is eligible to be vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19. It's an incredible feat, and it is even more incredible when you think back to where we were one year ago. One year ago, we were in the depth of our first stay-at-home order, disinfecting our groceries before bringing them into the house and wondering when-or even whether-we'd be … Continue Reading
April 14, 2021
Sen. Duckworth Calls for DOJ Probe of 'Brazenly Violent' Police Treatment of Black Army Officer
A retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Senate is calling on the Department of Justice to investigate whether there is an "unlawful pattern or practice of conduct" at the police department in Windsor, Virginia after officers held a uniformed Guard officer at gunpoint and doused him in pepper spray. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., sent a letter Wednesday to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, asking DOJ to investigate whether Windsor police regularly engage in searches … Continue Reading
April 09, 2021
Sen. Duckworth: Anti-Asian hate crimes 'notoriously underreported'
Amid a nationwide rise in anti-Asian hate, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D., Ill.) wants the Department of Justice to look back at crimes committed against Asian Americans to determine if those crimes should have been classified as hate crimes. "Hate crimes against AAPIs [Asian American and Pacific Islanders] are notoriously underreported - and in fact, they're often classified as a mugging or vandalism or arson," said Duckworth in an interview with Yahoo Finance. "There's a lot more work that needs … Continue Reading
April 06, 2021
Tammy Duckworth pressures postal service board on firing DeJoy
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) on Monday called on her supporters via Twitter to urge the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Board of Governors to remove Postmaster General Louis DeJoy after the board said the former Trump donor "continues to enjoy the Board's full support." Duckworth late last month sent a letter to Board of Governors Chairman Ron Bloom and other board members calling on them to "take immediate action" in firing DeJoy in response to his 10-year plan to limit financial losses, … Continue Reading
April 01, 2021
Durbin, Duckworth push to make Bronzeville church where Emmett Till’s funeral was held a National Historic Site
Last month, Sens. Duckworth and Durbin introduced a bill to make the Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ building, 4021 S. State St., a National Historic Site. Now they've penned a request to the National Park Service to conduct a reconnaissance survey of the church, a step in the process of making it a historical site in the National Park System. "We believe Roberts Temple, which is in dire need of structural repair and rehabilitation, should be designated as a new unit of the … Continue Reading
March 31, 2021
U.S. Lawmakers Are Finally Introducing a New Bill on Baby Food Safety
On Friday, March 26, a group of democratic lawmakers will introduce a new bill focused on toxic heavy metals in baby food. The bill would set new maximum levels for toxic heavy metals, including inorganic arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury, in both baby food and cereal, as well as require compliance from manufacturers within one year. The Baby Food Safety Act of 2021 would also stipulate that the levels be lowered further within two years with FDA guidance and after three years with … Continue Reading
