In The News

April 28, 2021

Nearly $22M awarded for rural water infrastructure in Ill.

by Jessica Ladd
Source: KFVS12

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

by Evan Garcia
Source: WTTW

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

by Brad Palmer

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

by Zachary Cohen

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

by Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)

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

by Paul Kane

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

by Katrina Nattress
Source: Motherly

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

by Alexa Mikhail
Source: 19th News

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

by Justine Calma
Source: The Verge

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

by U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)

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

by Steve Beynon
Source: Military

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'

by Jessica Smith

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

by Celine Castronuovo
Source: The Hill

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

by Lisa Donovan

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

by Nehal Aggarwal
Source: The Bump

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


March 29, 2021

Duckworth: Social media habits hold clues to extremists in the military

by Ellen Mitchell
Source: The Hill

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) on Monday suggested that the Pentagon find a way to examine the social media habits of incoming and existing service members who show tendencies toward extremist views. "It's not a new thing, but I will tell you that I have seen over the last probably two decades this growing radicalization of a portion within the military. And I think part of it too comes with social media consumption," Duckworth, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, said at The Hill's Future of … Continue Reading


March 25, 2021

‘No Excuses Left For Inaction’: Sen. Duckworth Asks USPS Board To Fire DeJoy ‘For Cause’

by Andrew Solender
Source: Forbes

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) on Thursday called on the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors to fire Postmaster General Louis DeJoy “for cause” over his “pathetic” 10-year strategic plan, the latest sign that Democrats are dead-set on dislodging the Trump appointee from his post. Key Facts In a letter to the board of governors, which currently has a 4-2 Republican majority, Duckworth said the plan demonstrates that DeJoy is a “clear and present … Continue Reading


March 24, 2021

Duckworth withdraws pledge to hold up Biden appointees as White House offers a senior staffer to hear Asian American and Pacific Islander concerns

by Rick Pearson

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth has withdrawn her vow to put a hold on President Joe Biden's government nominees over a lack of Asian American and Pacific Islander representation after the White House vowed to hire a senior official to hear the community's concerns. Duckworth, the first Thai American in Congress, raised the issue of AAPI representation in the White House at a time of increasing fears over violence against the community in the aftermath of a shooting in Atlanta earlier this … Continue Reading


March 23, 2021

Emmett Till’s funeral site may become national monument

by Crusader Staff Report

It was the site of the funeral of a 14-year-old Black boy whose badly disfigured face shocked the world and helped spark the Civil Rights Movement. Today, efforts are underway to designate the Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Bronzeville a national monument, 66 years after it hosted the funeral of murdered teenager Emmett Till. On Tuesday, March 16, several U.S. Senators, including Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), introduced a bill that would … Continue Reading


March 21, 2021

Sen. Tammy Duckworth Calls For ‘Deeper Investigation’ Into Hate Crimes Against Asian-Americans

by CBS 2 Chicago Staff

WASHINGTON (CBS Chicago/CBS News) - U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) on Sunday called on FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland to take a deep look at hate crimes against Asian-Americans. On CBS News' "Face the Nation" Sunday morning, Duckworth - the first Thai American elected to Congress - said people simply don't believe Asian-Americans are hate crime victims. "The problem is the crimes often are not reported as a hate crime or race-motivated crime at the … Continue Reading

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