In The News
Sen. Duckworth Calls for Restoration of $125M Cut From Lead Service Line Replacement Budget by Slashing Funding for ICE
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth speaks at an event in Springfield on Aug. 13, 2025. (Jerry Nowicki / Capitol News Illinois) The United States Senate should restore the $125 million cut from the effort to replace lead service lines responsible for contaminating drinking water across the country by slashing funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth told WTTW News. A spending package approved by the U.S. House of Representatives that included funding for the U.S. … Continue Reading
December 24, 2025
Opinion: I’m a veteran. Here’s why I voted against the defense authorization bill.
One of the proudest moments of my life was the first time I laced up my boots, put on my uniform and raised my right hand to salute as a member of the Illinois Army National Guard. I was honored to wear the flag on my shoulder.?To be trusted to keep the country I love safe and defend the rights and freedoms that have defined this nation at its best for two centuries and counting. And it is because it was such an honor to serve, because I love our military so deeply, that I made the … Continue Reading
December 18, 2025
Durbin, Duckworth seek criminal probe of Chicago's immigration blitz — even after Trump leaves office
U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth on Thursday submitted a criminal referral to the Justice Department over alleged constitutional violations — including warrantless arrests and the use of excessive force — by federal immigration agents during Operation Midway Blitz. They’re fully aware that President Donald Trump’s appointed attorney general, Pam Bondi, is unlikely to act on their request. But speaking on the Senate floor Thursday morning, Durbin noted, “The statute of limitations … Continue Reading
December 17, 2025
Senators freeze Coast Guard admiral’s promotion over swastika, noose policy
At least two U.S. senators have put holds on the nomination of Adm. Kevin Lunday to lead the U.S. Coast Guard, citing concerns with a new workplace harassment policy that downgrades the definition of swastikas and nooses from hate symbols to “potentially divisive.” The move upends Lunday’s confirmation, which the Senate was due to vote on this week, and raises new questions about the decision to implement the policy revisions after Lunday in November had forcefully denounced such symbols and … Continue Reading
December 11, 2025
Trump troop deployments to US cities have cost more than $340 million, senator says
WASHINGTON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - The deployment of U.S. troops to cities around the United States has cost more than $340 million, a U.S. Senator said on Thursday, highlighting the expense of President Donald Trump's use of the military in the Democratic-led cities. Trump has deployed National Guard troops to Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, Oregon, and Memphis, Tennessee, though some of those deployments have been paused as they face legal challenges. Senator Tammy Duckworth of … Continue Reading
December 11, 2025
Duckworth confronts defense officials over Guard deployment in Chicago
Sen. Tammy Duckworth today confronted Department of Defense officials at a hearing over National Guard use in U.S. cities, telling them federal forces have been deployed “under false pretenses.” “Why is this administration so focused on turning our military against Americans here at home?” the Illinois Democrat said at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “And make no mistake, this is deeply unpopular. Most Americans don’t want this.” Duckworth, a member of the committee, worked … Continue Reading
December 11, 2025
Lawmakers press EPA for more research on metro-east pollution, health impacts
Federal lawmakers are urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to conduct more research on pollution in the metro-east, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention seven months ago. The CDC completed an air pollution investigation in Sauget on May 1, focusing on emissions from the hazardous waste incinerator Veolia North America-Trade Waste Incineration. In its final report, the public health agency stated that while it could provide some answers about community … Continue Reading
December 07, 2025
Duckworth calls second strike on alleged drug boat ‘essentially murder’
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois, criticized the military strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, and called a second hit on the wreckage of a boat on Sept. 2 "essentially murder." What they're saying: Duckworth made the comments in an interview on CNN on Sunday. "It was essentially murder with that double-tap strike… It’s all illegal," Duckworth said. Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran who lost her legs when her helicopter was hit by a … Continue Reading
December 04, 2025
Democratic Senator Urges Trump to Defend IVF Coverage in the Defense Bill
Sen. Tammy Duckworth is urging President Donald Trump, the self-proclaimed “father of IVF,” to stop Speaker Mike Johnson from stripping in vitro fertilization coverage for service members. “WARNING: Speaker Johnson wants you to become the DEADBEAT DAD OF IVF,” Duckworth wrote Trump in handwritten annotations on a letter Thursday afternoon. Johnson is reportedly working behind the scenes to remove a clause in the National Defense Authorization Act that would guarantee health coverage of … Continue Reading
December 03, 2025
Sen. Duckworth demands Transportation Dept. give $10,000 bonus to all air traffic controllers, FAA technicians
Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, the ranking member on the Senate's aviation subcommittee, is demanding the Transportation Department expand its $10,000 bonus to all air traffic controllers and FAA technicians who worked without pay during the government shutdown. The department said it would give the bonuses only to those who did not miss a day of work during the 44-day shutdown. "Excluding 96 percent of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Air Traffic Controller and … Continue Reading
November 21, 2025
A new crash test dummy that better resembles women gets key government endorsement
The U.S. government announced major design changes it wants to implement to make the female version of the vehicle crash test dummy more lifelike, potentially replacing a model used for decades that is based almost entirely around the body of a man despite higher injury risks for women. Department of Transportation officials will consider using the new dummy in the government’s vehicle crash test five-star ratings once a final rule is adopted, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Thursday … Continue Reading
November 19, 2025
Democratic senator accuses Trump of playing politics with aviation safety during shutdown
Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth suggested during a hearing Wednesday that the Trump administration was playing politics with the aviation system during the shutdown to force an agreement to reopen the government. Duckworth, of Illinois, zeroed in on why the Federal Aviation Administration and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy never shared the safety data they relied upon when they decided to order airlines to cut some of their flights at 40 busy airports near the end of the shutdown. She … Continue Reading
November 18, 2025
Democratic senators back bills to halt deportations of immigrant veterans, ease path to citizenship
A package of bills led by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., seeks to strengthen protections for immigrant veterans who have been deported or are in deportation proceedings. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee are backing a package of bills that would stop the deportation of immigrants who are veterans and make it easier for immigrants with military service to become U.S. citizens. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., an … Continue Reading
November 13, 2025
A final goodbye to a deported Chicago veteran
Last month, I got a call I’d feared since I started interviewing an Army combat veteran inside an immigration detention center in Wisconsin in 2017. The family of Miguel Perez Jr. told me he died unexpectedly in October while visiting family in Mexico. Miguel fought his deportation case for over a year before being deported in 2018. During President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown during his first term, Miguel’s was the lone immigration story I covered with a happy ending — coming back … Continue Reading
November 07, 2025
Sen. Tammy Duckworth calls again for urgent probe of federal agents' use of force in Chicago
Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth sent another letter to the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Friday, saying there is not enough urgency in honoring her request for an investigation into use of force by federal immigration agents in Chicago. Duckworth sent her initial letter on Oct 17, calling for federal government watchdogs to launch an investigation into immigration agents' tactics in the Chicago area as part of Operation Midway Blitz. In this second letter, … Continue Reading
November 06, 2025
Duckworth pushes to boost veterans deportation protections
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., is renewing a push for a package of bills aimed at protecting veterans and servicemembers from deportation, hoping that attention on the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign builds momentum for her legislation. On Thursday afternoon, Duckworth will reintroduce three bills that would prohibit deporting veterans who are not violent offenders, allow non-violent veterans who have been deported to temporarily reenter the United States to get care at the … Continue Reading
November 06, 2025
Sen. Duckworth demands end to 'secret detentions' of citizen protesters by FBI, calls for DOJ investigation
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth is calling on the Department of Justice to investigate instances where U.S. citizens detained by federal immigration agents are held in FBI facilities for hours before ultimately being released. Duckworth called on FBI director Kash Patel to end the “secret detentions” and hand over all paperwork regarding the agency’s involvement in immigration enforcement and “Operation Midway Blitz,” according to a letter shared with the Sun-Times. The senator is also asking for … Continue Reading
October 30, 2025
DHS has Arrested people filming their agents, and Sens. Duckworth, Durbin say those arrests must stop
U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin are demanding federal immigration agents stop arresting people filming them. In a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the senators requested that she keep federal agents from arresting people exercising “a core First Amendment right.” “Failure to do so would be an admission that you are purposefully seeking to suppress free speech and impede government accountability through malicious, unlawful arrests intended to … Continue Reading
October 28, 2025
Democrats slam FCC’s decision to ‘gut’ prison phone call price caps
Senate Democrats are urging the Federal Communications Commission to enforce a rule that would lower the price of prison phone and video calls. In a letter led by Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), several Democrats, including Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), among others, criticize FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s efforts to “effectively gut” a final rule to implement a cap on exorbitant fees. The letter comes just hours before the … Continue Reading
October 24, 2025
Durbin, Duckworth blast Trump for playing ‘political games’ in denying Illinois disaster assistance
U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth on Friday urged President Donald Trump to stop playing “political games” with disaster assistance after the president this week denied disaster funding for Illinois. Trump on Wednesday approved major disaster declarations for Alaska, Nebraska, North Dakota and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. But he also denied requests from Illinois, Maryland and Vermont. Several other states are awaiting decisions. Illinois and Maryland are led by Democratic … Continue Reading