In The News
New Bill Aims to Boost Airline Accessibility For Amputees
December was a frustrating month for airline passengers. But every month is frustrating for passengers who are flying with disabilities. The indignities include damaged wheelchairs, inaccessible lavatories, rude gate agents, and even physical injuries-up to and including death. The latter occurred in late 2021, when prominent disability advocate Engracia Figueroa (a lower-limb amputee) suffered a fatal health decline after the destruction of her $30,000 wheelchair on a United Airlines flight. … Continue Reading
February 10, 2023
Illinois senators reintroduce bill to make Springfield race riot site a national monument
Illinois Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D) and Dick Durbin (D) on Thursday introduced legislation to designate the site of the Springfield race riot in Illinois as a national monument. The 1908 Springfield Race Riot National Monument Act would establish the site as a national monument to be managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Designating the site would help guarantee that public lands reflect the diversity and complexity of the nation, the senators said in a release. Less than a quarter of … Continue Reading
February 08, 2023
Duckworth urges Congress to try police reform again after Tyre Nichols’ killing
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth wants Congress to try again to pass police reform following the killing of Tyre Nichols at the hands of police in Memphis. Illinois' junior Democratic senator said she'd need to see a specific bill before deciding whether keeping legal immunity for officers would be a deal-breaker. That's where police reform talks broke down two years ago. "Where the Republicans are in terms of qualified immunity, we're going to have to see what they come to the table with, but I … Continue Reading
February 07, 2023
Sen. Duckworth on the upcoming SOTU
WASHINGTON (WMBD)- Senator Duckworth spoke about the upcoming SOTU and what she hopes to see. Reproductive rights are one of the major issues Duckworth is passionate about. Emphasizing it goes beyond the right to an abortion, but reproductive care in general. Senator Duckworth was joined by her special guest, Dr. Erin King, a physician who runs the Hope Clinic, a reproductive service provider in Illinois. "The reason I brought Dr. King here as my guest is that I hope that he (Biden) will … Continue Reading
February 03, 2023
Democrats renew push for national paid family and medical leave program
As Democratic lawmakers honor the anniversary of a national family and medical program for workers, they are calling for a national paid policy that would bring the U.S. in line with other industrialized nations. This Sunday, Feb. 5, marks the 30th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act, legislation that lets workers who qualify take unpaid time off from their jobs to care for loved ones or recover from their own illnesses or health conditions. The FMLA was signed into law by … Continue Reading
February 02, 2023
Duckworth tapped to lead a Senate panel that's vital to O'Hare—and U.S. aviation
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., has been named to lead a key Senate panel, one that puts her in a powerful position to improve safety in the nation's aviation system and boost both ground and air access to O'Hare International Airport. The post is the chairmanship of the aviation subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee. Duckworth will take over as the panel takes up reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, the agency that regulates almost all aspects of the flying … Continue Reading
January 31, 2023
A woman’s calls sustained her incarcerated grandson. Now a law in her name will lower prison phone rates.
Ulandis Forte had to adjust to a lot of changes during his 18 years of incarceration. From the time he was 20 years old, he moved from facility to facility, in states as far apart as Virginia, Ohio, Arizona and Pennsylvania. One constant in his life, however, were Sunday phone calls with his grandmother Martha Wright-Reed. "I grew up in prison with my grandmother," Forte, 49, told The 19th. "We talked at least once a week, every Sunday after church, when she got home. She kept me focused. I … Continue Reading
January 20, 2023
Bipartisan bill introduced to establish memorial honoring women on home front during WWII
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KFVS) - A new memorial coming to Washington, D.C. will honor the 18 million women on the home front during World War II. U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) introduced the bipartisan legislation to honor women who worked as code breakers, engineers, pilots and more during the war. The legislation was recently signed into law by President Joe Biden. According to a release from Sen. Duckworth's office, the bill was co-sponsored in the U.S. Senate by senators Marsha … Continue Reading
January 11, 2023
IL Sen. Tammy Duckworth says federal earmarks in US budget helping Streator, Cedar Point, and Ottawa
Federal earmarks are helping three cities in LaSalle County. About $1.6 million will be used to install new storm sewers in Streator and replace thirty year old equipment at the city's wastewater treatment plant. In Cedar Point, $530,000 will also be used to upgrade the city's wastewater treatment plant. Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth says the money was included in the federal budget because smaller communities have been having a hard time getting federal funding for projects. So congressional … Continue Reading
January 10, 2023
EPA to award $100M to boost environmental justice programs
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday it is awarding $100 million in competitive grants for projects that advance environmental justice in communities disproportionately affected by industrial pollution and other hazards. The funding, established through the 2022 climate and health law signed by President Joe Biden, marks the largest environmental justice grants the agency has ever offered. The projects are among the first from an expected $3 billion in block … Continue Reading
January 05, 2023
Biden signs bill to ease costs for prisoner calls to family
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Joe Biden on Thursday signed into law a bill aimed at easing the cost for prisoners to call family and friends. The legislation clarifies that the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates interstate and international communications through cable, radio, television, satellite and wire, can set limits for fees on audio and video calls inside corrections facilities. Phone calls from prisons and jails are a lifeline for those incarcerated, but the cost … Continue Reading
January 04, 2023
Bipartisan bill introduced to establish memorial honoring women on home front during WWII
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KFVS) - A new memorial coming to Washington, D.C. will honor the 18 million women on the home front during World War II. U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) introduced the bipartisan legislation to honor women who worked as code breakers, engineers, pilots and more during the war. The legislation was recently signed into law by President Joe Biden. According to a release from Sen. Duckworth's office, the bill was co-sponsored in the U.S. Senate by senators Marsha … Continue Reading
December 19, 2022
CTA, Metra to get $185 million in federal funding to make stations more accessible
Chicago will receive a total of $185 million in federal funding to make several of its Chicago Transit Authority and Metra stations accessible for disabled riders, officials announced Monday as part of a new program tucked into the bipartisan infrastructure law signed by President Joe Biden last year. Combined, Chicago will receive the second-largest bundle of grants, after New York City, under a provision in the massive $1 trillion bill that sets aside $1.75 billion for transit agencies to … Continue Reading
December 16, 2022
Duckworth sponsoring new legislation that would require FAA to do more for passenger safety
CHICAGO - As millions of people pack onto planes this holiday season lawmakers in Washington are urging the Federal Aviation Administration to update emergency safety standards. The new legislation Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth is sponsoring would require the FAA to do more to prioritize passenger safety by considering realities like seat size, carry on bags and people with disabilities when it comes to emergency evacuation protocol. While no one wants to think about an emergency … Continue Reading
December 15, 2022
Democrats Look to Protect Fertility Treatments in Post-Roe Era
Democrats are moving to protect access to fertility treatments in anticipation of a raft of bills bestowing legal rights on fetuses that are expected to be introduced in state legislatures next year. Driving the news: Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) are introducing legislation in the Senate later today to outline a federal right to fertility treatments, in the belief restrictions on abortion could otherwise apply to assisted reproductive technologies, Axios has … Continue Reading
December 15, 2022
Senate Democrats Seek To Protect IVF Ahead Of Looming Attacks In Abortion Fight
As politicians and organizers across the country battle ongoing abortion restrictions in the wake of Roe v. Wade's demise, many are gearing up for the next fight in the war on reproductive justice: ensuring continued access to in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments. Democratic Sens. Tammy Duckworth (Ill.) and Patty Murray (Wash.) are anticipating that fight with the introduction of new legislation, the Right To Build Families Act of 2022. The bill, introduced in the Senate … Continue Reading
December 08, 2022
U.S. Senators Want FAA to Rewrite Aircraft Evacuation Standards
WASHINGTON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Two U.S. senators are proposing legislation to require the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to rewrite aircraft evacuation standards to do a better job of taking real life conditions into account. Current rules say airlines must be able to evacuate passengers within 90 seconds but do not set seat size requirements. The FAA uses tests to determine if shrinking seat sizes and seat pitch on airplanes are safe. Senators Tammy Duckworth and Tammy Baldwin argue … Continue Reading
December 08, 2022
'Not in the Normal Conditions': Sen. Duckworth Wants to Change How Airlines Downsize Seats, Evacuation Plans
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Airlines have been downsizing their seats for years which led the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to set new standards, to ensure passengers can evacuate a plane in 90 seconds or less. But that testing has been widely criticized for not taking people with disabilities into account. CBS Correspondent Kris Van Cleave reports Illinois U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth is looking to make changes. In a simulated cabin that can be filled with smoke and plunged into darkness, the FAA … Continue Reading
November 30, 2022
Durbin, Duckworth cosponsor Senate bill to allow year-round E15 sales
A bipartisan group of 15 Corn Belt senators has introduced legislation that would permit nationwide summer sales of E15 and other higher ethanol blend fuels. U.S. Sens. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., introduced the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2022 on Tuesday. Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Springfield, and Tammy Duckworth, D-Hoffman Estates, are among the bill's cosponsors. The bill would largely make a regulatory change in the Clean Air Act's fuel volatility language to … Continue Reading
November 29, 2022
Sen. Tammy Duckworth on Same-Sex Marriage Protections, Potential Rail Strike
Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth says the Respect for Marriage Act is "a great first step" in further protecting same-sex marriage. Her remarks on the bill came just hours before the Senate approved the measure in a bipartisan 61-36 vote. Duckworth spoke on a number of legislative issues that U.S. lawmakers are taking up during the lame-duck session before a new Congress is sworn in early next year. Republicans will be taking control of the House in January while Democrats remain in control of … Continue Reading
