In The News
Duckworth bill would help put seat belts on every U.S. school bus
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., reintroduced legislation Friday that she says would make it safer for students to ride school buses. At a Friday afternoon news conference outside Little Village Academy, Duckworth urged Congress to take up the "School Bus Safety Act." "It worries me that not all school buses have seat belts," said Duckworth, a member of the Senate Transportation & Safety subcommittee. "No parent should worry that their child could be injured on a school bus when there … Continue Reading
September 04, 2019
Durbin, Duckworth announces nearly $38M to Illinois to combat opioid epidemic
U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced on Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded Illinois a total of $37,906,897 through the State Opioid Response Grant Program and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Overdose Data to Action Funding Program. Under the announcement, the State of Illinois will receive $28,989,372 in funding through the State Opioid Response Grant Program. Also, the City of Chicago's … Continue Reading
August 29, 2019
Veterans condemn new citizenship policy for kids of overseas U.S. service members
Prominent veterans are calling on the Trump administration to reverse a new policy announced this week that would end automatic citizenship for some children of U.S. military personnel or government employees stationed abroad. The change would apply to the offspring of certain members of the U.S. military and government employees stationed abroad who are now automatically granted citizenship. The parents of those children could apply for citizenship for them, but it would not be … Continue Reading
August 24, 2019
Duckworth forges ties between Thailand, US
Four years ago when Thai-American US Senator Ladda "Tammy" Duckworth visited Thailand, she was still a member of the House of Representatives. This time, in her new post as a senator, she accepted an invitation from the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy to visit Thailand. The US congresswoman had an audience with HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, and also met with Thai politicians including Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and House Speaker Chuan Leekpai, along with visiting her … Continue Reading
August 23, 2019
Thai-American US senator hails 'messy' democracy in Bangkok
Thai-American US Senator Tammy Duckworth on Friday urged Thais to be patient with the "messy" nature of democracy, during her first official visit to her birthplace Bangkok since she was elected in 2016. Duckworth's comments come two months after 2014 coup leader Prayut Chan-O-Cha was reinstalled as Thailand's civilian premier following a highly disputed poll. The US Senator met Prayut on Friday morning, after a press conference where she congratulated Thailand on a "successful … Continue Reading
August 20, 2019
School bus crash demonstration shows importance of seat belts to keep kids safe
How safe is a school bus without seat belts when it comes to protecting children in the event of a crash? NBC News investigative and consumer correspondent Vicky Nguyen traveled to a commercial crash test facility to see what can happen when an accident occurs in a bus without seat belts, which aren't required under federal law. Three people were injured after a school bus fell onto its side in a crash in November in Arizona, and other incidents have occurred in Texas, North Carolina and … Continue Reading
August 15, 2019
Arsenal gets $52M for renovations, IT upgrades
The Rock Island Arsenal has secured $52 million in federal funding for renovations and information technology upgrades for the Army Sustainment Command Headquarters. In a joint announcement released Thursday, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said the funding will go toward repairing or upgrading windows, floors, ceilings, interior and exterior walls, plumbing, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, fire … Continue Reading
August 13, 2019
Deported veterans can't get into the country for citizenship interviews. This senator wants answers.
Deported Marine Corps veteran Roman Sabal was supposed to return to the United States for a citizenship interview in mid-July. He was denied entry. Now, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., wants the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State to explain why. Sabal first came to the United States on a visitor visa with one plan - joining the Marine Corps. He succeeded in 1987 and served for six years before being honorably discharged and going on to serve in the Army Reserves. He … Continue Reading
August 12, 2019
Duckworth: Ethylene oxide-emitting facilities in Waukegan, Gurnee 'definitely’ didn’t get same response as Sterigenics in Willowbrook
Ethylene oxide-emitting plants in Lake County were taken less seriously than the Sterigenics facility in DuPage County's Willowbrook, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth said Monday afternoon. "It definitely is," the Hoffman Estates Democrat said in an interview with the News-Sun. "I think that black and brown communities get overlooked quite often, and then there's also a resource issue. … The municipalities couldn't afford what Willowbrook could afford." That's why Duckworth … Continue Reading
August 08, 2019
Under Trump, discrimination complaints and firing of disabled federal workers rise
WASHINGTON - The Trump administration says it's creating jobs and opportunities for people with disabilities across the country, but critics say that's not always true for those working for the federal government. "There isn't any real leadership on disability issues in the Trump administration," said Curt Decker, executive director of the National Disability Rights Network, a national nonprofit advocacy group. "Bad things are happening every day for people with disabilities, and without … Continue Reading
August 07, 2019
U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth ask MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred for more data on ballpark fan injuries
U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois have written Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred for the second time in six weeks, this time asking MLB “to collect and report data” about ballpark fan injuries. “This will provide a more honest public dialogue and help protect baseball’s biggest — and littlest — fans,” the two Democrats wrote in their letter Tuesday. They said it is their understanding teams collected data on seating areas that are most … Continue Reading
August 07, 2019
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth says improving health and education in the U.S. would lead to a stronger military
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth on Wednesday called for a "holistic" approach to national security, saying that dealing with domestic issues to improve education, health care and infrastructure will help the nation's military preparedness. "We can't just keep throwing together huge defense budgets every year and thinking that's enough," the Democratic senator told an audience at the City Club of Chicago. "Instead, we need to balance investing in our weaponry with investing in our … Continue Reading
July 27, 2019
Duckworth revives nuclear-waste plan that could provide Zion with more than $15 million in aid -- this time with a Republican ally
The city of Zion could receive up to $15.3 million a year for five years under a plan to compensate communities impacted by stranded nuclear waste, a plan that U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth said now has support from across the aisle. Despite the bipartisan support, the Hoffman Estates Democrat said in an interview it might still take two or three attempts to push the proposal through Congress. Duckworth reintroduced the bill - called the Sensible, Timely Relief for America's … Continue Reading
July 26, 2019
Duckworth, Durbin Reintroduce Bill to Halt Sewage Dumping Into Great Lakes
U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin of Illinois have reintroduced legislation aimed at ending the inadvertent dumping of untreated sewage waste into Lake Michigan and the entire Great Lakes basin. Tens of billions of gallons of untreated sewage and stormwater runoff are dumped into the Great Lakes each year, polluting the water and prompting beach closings and swimming advisories, according to the nonprofit Alliance for the Great Lakes. The Democratic senators' Great Lakes Water … Continue Reading
July 24, 2019
After wheelchair was lost for 12 hours, couple speaks out about traveling with a disability
As soon as Nic and Rachel Cole touched down in Minneapolis, she received an alert that one of their two bags wasn't arriving. At first, the couple was confused. They had only checked one bag. But soon Rachel realized what happened — and it was worse than missing clothes and toiletries. The airline forgot Nic’s wheelchair. “I heard one of the flight attendants say, ‘They didn’t load his wheelchair?!’ Yes, you read that correctly, They Didn’t Load His … Continue Reading
July 23, 2019
Durbin, Duckworth bill inspired by Cairo would allow HUD to redirect fines to communities harmed by fraud
WASHINGTON - A bill introduced Monday night by U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth would allow the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to redirect any fines and assessments collected from the program fraud cases to communities that have been harmed. Under current law, when HUD brings an administrative claim against a public or private landlord, any money collected goes back to the U.S. Treasury, and is not recouped by HUD. The Fairness for Housing Communities Act … Continue Reading
July 13, 2019
On Southern Illinois tour, Duckworth hears from flooded communities; talks levee needs
CARBONDALE - With thousands of acres still beneath flood waters, Senator Tammy Duckworth met with officials from Alexander, Union, Randolph and Jackson counties to discuss their recovery, Saturday, as part of a multi-day tour of Southern Illinois. Duckworth and fellow Senator Dick Durbin have been "actively working to change how the federal government values property, to get compensation for rural areas, fix levees and get the dollars back into landowners' pockets," she told the … Continue Reading
July 12, 2019
Why are many of America's military families going hungry?
SAN DIEGO - Dozens of people formed a line outside Dewey Elementary School on a recent Monday, awaiting the arrival of a Feeding San Diego truck that gives out free groceries every other week. The vast majority weren't homeless or even newly unemployed. They're the husbands and wives of U.S. military service members. "I knew we wouldn't be wealthy, but I thought it would be a lot more manageable," said Desiree Mieir, a mother of four whose Navy husband's most recent deployment lasted almost … Continue Reading
July 11, 2019
Duckworth: Deporting military families 'cruel, inhumane, a threat to national security'
As the nation's civil war over how to handle immigration turns even meaner, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth is taking aim at a new move by the Trump administration to deport family members of active-duty military personnel if they originally entered the country illegally. In a letter signed by Duckworth and 21 colleagues, all Democrats, Illinois' junior senator said terminating the "parole in place program" would be "cruel, inhumane and will result in separating military families." Beyond that, she … Continue Reading
July 09, 2019
Politicians Roll Out New Legislation to Aid LGBTQ Veterans
New legislation in Congress aims to address health care disparities for LGBTQ veterans. Filed by U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., the LGBT VA Advocacy Inclusion Act would include LGBTQ individuals in the Department of Veterans Affairs' definitions of minority group members, according to the Military Times. "We owe all veterans who have defended our nation access to the health care and benefits we promised, and they have rightfully earned - regardless of their … Continue Reading