In The News
A working mom’s quarantine life
Many American mothers experienced a profound shift in their lives - well beyond the mere loss of their routines - when the country began to grapple with the novel coronavirus two months ago. The working moms lucky enough to have avoided the virus or recovered from it are juggling jobs and child care with an intensity that has never before existed. They are home-schooling while working. They're preparing lunches while working. They're policing screen time while working - and dealing with the … Continue Reading
May 05, 2020
Nearly $570M in COVID-19 relief available for K-12 education in Illinois
U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin announced the availability of up to $569,467,218 in federal funding to support continued education for Illinois K-12 students whose schooling has been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding is part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). CARES Act funds can be used by state and local leaders to support a variety of educational services including immediate e-learning needs, safety and health measures, and … Continue Reading
May 03, 2020
Sen. Tammy Duckworth deplores use of Nazi slogan at Chicago stay-at-home protest
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., on Sunday deplored the use of an infamous Nazi slogan at a Chicago protest against Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order. And she continued to slam President Donald Trump for his handling of the COVID-19 crisis and for ordering West Point cadets back to campus for his graduation speech. Duckworth, during an interview on MSNBC’s “AM Joy” with host Joy Reid, was asked about Trump’s upcoming West Point address and the protesters … Continue Reading
April 30, 2020
Sen. Duckworth: Trump recalling West Point cadets is a ‘failure in his role as commander in chief’
Sen. Tammy Duckworth tells Lawrence O'Donnell that Trump is "needlessly exposing" West Point cadets to coronavirus by forcing them to return to New York for his address that could impact military readiness if they get sick: "It's the ultimate in narcissistic behavior by this president who can't seem to sink low enough when it comes to how he treats our … Continue Reading
April 29, 2020
Sen. Tammy Duckworth Says Trump Values TV Ratings Over Health Of West Point Cadets
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) blasted President Donald Trump's decision to bring 1,000 West Point cadets back to campus during the coronavirus pandemic so that he can give a speech to the graduating class. "Trump's reckless decision to gather 1,000 Cadets at West Point for a speech puts our future military leaders at increased risk - all to stroke his own ego," Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran and Purple Heart recipient, said in a statement Wednesday. "Our troops need stable, consistent … Continue Reading
April 24, 2020
Durbin, Duckworth, Bustos sound alarm about federal inmate transfer after outbreak at Chicago facility
Three Illinois lawmakers sounded an alarm Friday over the transfer of at least 20 inmates from the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago, grappling with a COVID-19 outbreak, to a federal prison in northwest Illinois which has no confirmed cases. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, and Rep. Cheri Bustos - all Illinois Democrats - said the Federal Bureau of Prisons should not have sent the prisoners to the facility in Thomson, Ill., without taking more safeguards. The prisoners … Continue Reading
April 20, 2020
Iowa and Illinois senators named to Trump's task force to reopen economy
U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, have been asked to serve on President Trump's task force advising him on when and how to reopen the economy. Last week the Trump administration assembled a bipartisan group of lawmakers consisting of 97 members of Congress to analyze the best way to restart businesses in the middle of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Sens. Duckworth and Durbin commented on their appointments to the task … Continue Reading
April 17, 2020
RI Arsenal making ventilator and face shield parts
The Rock Island Arsenal is playing a critical role in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, manufacturing parts for respirators and frames for face shields desperately needed as medical supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies across the country are depleted. The loud hum of Fortus 900 printers and smaller 3-D printers filled the massive warehouse of the Arsenal's Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center (JMTC) Friday afternoon, as U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., U.S. Sen. Dick … Continue Reading
April 16, 2020
Duckworth discusses stay at home order, hazard pay for frontline workers
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) - Sen. Tammy Duckworth spoke with us about many topics related to COVID-19, including the stay at home order, hazard pay for frontline workers, the next economic stimulus package, and President Donald Trump withdrawing funding from the World Health … Continue Reading
April 13, 2020
Durbin, Duckworth, other Dem senators: End ‘ambiguity’ over jobless benefits for gig workers
A group of Democratic senators, including Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, implored Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia on Monday to "eliminate ambiguity" and make sure self-employed gig workers qualify for newly available COVID-19 jobless benefits. The letter, signed by 32 Democratic senators, notes part of the guidance issued by the Labor Department dealing with eligibility "appear narrow or ambiguous, which could make states think they need to exclude workers who Congress clearly … Continue Reading
April 06, 2020
If Trump wants to be seen as a 'wartime president,' he should start acting like one
In the time it takes you to read this, dozens more Americans will probably have been diagnosed with COVID-19. By the time you finish it, there's a good chance another American will have died from the disease. Many of those diagnoses will probably come in New York; some in California; others ranging from Louisiana to Florida. While we don't know everything about this virus just yet, what we do know is that it is spreading exponentially. Young, old, rich, poor, black, white, Asian, Latino, you … Continue Reading
March 30, 2020
The Spin: Politics, parenting and Sen. Duckworth’s hot mic moment
Sen. Tammy Duckworth's work-from-home 'hot mic' moment With schools closed and work-from-home orders for so many still in place, parenting and professional worlds are colliding - sometimes in stressful or hilarious ways - and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth experienced that firsthand. In the run-up to a vote on the relief bill last week, she was home and on a conference call with the Democratic caucus when she thought her phone was on mute. "My daughter was there ... and I (said) 'honey you need … Continue Reading
March 28, 2020
Bernard Schoenburg: Duckworth calls $2.2 trillion bill a ‘down payment,’ Trump ‘incompetent’
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, of Hoffman Estates, was among senators who voted unanimously for the $2.2 trillion coronavirus rescue package. She thinks more will be needed, and is not happy with the way the health crisis has been handled by President Donald Trump. "I think it was a good bill," Duckworth said Thursday. But, for example, she said $100 billion in emergency funding for hospitals won't cover all costs. "That's across the whole country, and that's more (of) really a down … Continue Reading
March 26, 2020
Durbin, Duckworth release Illinois particulars on Senate-passed coronavirus relief bill; state and local governments to split nearly $5 billion
The $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill passed by the Senate includes $4.9 billion in direct assistance to Illinois' state and local governments, Democratic U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth said Thursday. The measure, which awaits final House action, would give Illinois state government $2.7 billion, while providing $2.2 billion to local governments, according to estimates from the National Conference of State Legislatures. In addition, the Illinois senators said state health care … Continue Reading
March 25, 2020
Durbin, Duckworth join Pritzker in urging Trump to issue Illinois coronavirus disaster declaration
Illinois Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth on Wednesday bolstered Gov. J.B. Pritzker's request for a federal disaster declaration in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Illinois has requested assistance for all 102 counties in the state. The federal declaration would give Illinois access to more federal benefits. The Democratic senators said in a letter to President Donald Trump, "Pritzker has indicated that this pandemic is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is … Continue Reading
March 25, 2020
Crusader Health receives $99k in federal funding to help with the COVID-19 outbreak
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) -- Nearly $100,000 is coming to Crusader Health Clinic in Rockford to help with its COVID-19 response, all thanks to a federal grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services. US Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth announced Wednesday that Illinois received $3.6 million in federal grants to support 45 community health centers. The funds come from the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act. The centers will use the funds to … Continue Reading
March 25, 2020
Support grows to federally fund all 10,000 National Guard members fighting coronavirus pandemic
The call to approve federal funding for all of the more than 10,000 National Guard members activated to combat the coronavirus pandemic is growing among governors and lawmakers on Capitol Hill. "Thousands of National Guard troops have been activated under [state active-duty] status and state governments are already struggling to cover the costs of emergency response operations required by the ongoing [coronavirus] crisis," Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., wrote in a letter Tuesday to … Continue Reading
March 24, 2020
State of IL Receives Medicaid Waiver To Administer More Healthcare Services
"The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid have approved the State of Illinois' Medicaid waiver allowing for the expansion of access to health care services. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth had sent a letter to CMS earlier this week asking for the waiver to be accepted so the state could administer more healthcare coverage during the COVID-19 response. Durbin and Duckworth said in the letter that the state would be facing a surge of patients in the coming weeks because of the virus. … Continue Reading
March 16, 2020
US lawmaker to Trump: Get the military ready to fight coronavirus
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth is calling on the Trump administration to prepare the National Guard to fight the new coronavirus pandemic. Guard personnel can potentially relieve the burden on civilian hospitals by setting up drive-thru testing sites in communities across the country, she said. As the administration has scrambled to broaden testing for the new coronavirus, known as COVID-19, Duckworth predicted the federal government will have to use Guard units that support chemical, … Continue Reading
March 15, 2020
Duckworth: Senate should pass Bipartisan COVID-19 Response Act immediately
WASHINGTON D.C (WAND) - Democrats are calling on the Senate to pass the Bipartisan Coronavirus aid package immediately. U.S Senator Tammy Duckworth called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to immediately call up and pass the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The U.S House of Representatives passed the bill late Friday night. The package includes free testing, paid emergency leave and other resources intended to help stem the crisis. The Senate was expected to vote on it early … Continue Reading
