In The News

May 19, 2022

National Guard officer promotions could speed up under new measure

by Leo Shane III 

National Guard officers wait on average more than seven months for their promotion paperwork to be processed by state and military officials, and lawmakers want to know why. On Thursday, Sen. Tammy Duckworth - D-Ill. and a retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel - introduced new legislation calling for major reforms to the National Guard Bureau's federal recognition process, which she believes is unnecessarily complicating guardsmen's advancement and hurting readiness. "I know guys … Continue Reading


May 17, 2022

Duckworth Bill To Outlaw Crib Bumpers Becomes Law

by Benjamin Cox
Source: WLDS

A national bill championed by Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth has been signed into law. Yesterday, President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan legislation banning the sale of padded crib bumpers. The Safe Cribs Act, which was included in the legislation also banning dangerous inclined sleeper products, would make it unlawful nationwide to manufacture and import crib bumpers, which remain widely sold by retailers despite current recommendations advising parents to keep cribs bare to prevent … Continue Reading


May 13, 2022

Duckworth asks FTC to examine formula market

by Helena Bottemiller
Source: Politico

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) on Thursday wrote to Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan asking for a "wide-ranging study" of market dynamics and competition in the infant formula industry. The move comes as the country grapples with major disruptions of baby formula at the retail level and a dangerous shortage of specialty formulas that are lifelines for thousands of children and adults with unique medical needs. Supply chains have been rocky for several months, but the situation worsened … Continue Reading


May 11, 2022

Mindy Kaling, Bowen Yang, Margaret Cho, Sen. Tammy Duckworth and more on belonging in America

by Robin Kawakami
Source: TODAY

Tammy Duckworth U.S. SENATOR FOR ILLINOIS It wasn't so much one moment but the pivotal realization that the strength of our nation lies in our diversity, especially when we interact internationally. In the mid-90s, as a young platoon leader and First Lieutenant, I participated in Operation Brightstar, a NATO training exercise in Egypt. We were out in the desert with air crews from all different parts of NATO and somebody had gone up to one of the guys in my aircrew to ask to look at the … Continue Reading


May 10, 2022

Duckworth makes impassioned plea for abortion bill: D.C. Memo

by Mark Walsh

Roe remains at center stage today: U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., took to the Senate floor Tuesday to throw her support-in unusually personal terms-behind a pending bill that would enshrine access to abortion as a federal right. Duckworth said the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade "gave me my chance to be a mom. . . .I was only able to get pregnant through (in vitro fertilization), a fertility process that Roe lays the foundation for." Duckworth spoke in favor of the … Continue Reading


May 10, 2022

‘Shame on you:’ Sen. Duckworth slams anti-abortion Republicans in Senate debate

by Maggie Strahan
Source: WCBU

May 05, 2022

Duckworth bill aims to boost Pentagon’s 3D-printing capabilities

by Philip Athey

As the Pentagon shifts its focus from the nearly two-decade fights in the Middle East to competition against adversaries like Russia and China, the ability for front-line American troops to resupply on the fly is of increasing importance. On Wednesday, Sen. Tammy Duckworth introduced a bill directly aimed at boosting the Defense Department's use of bioindustrial manufacturing and 3D printing in order to give small, dispersed units more ways to resupply. The bill would require the Defense … Continue Reading


April 27, 2022

Duckworth Re-Introduces PROVE Act

by Benjamin Cox
Source: WLDS

Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth joined 12 fellow Democratic Senators yesterday in re-introducing legislation to expand voter registration and civic engagement initiatives. Duckworth re-filed the Pre-Registration of Voters Everywhere Act, known as the PROVE Act, that would allow for U.S. Citizens aged 16 and 17 to pre-register to be added to voter rolls when they turn 18. Additionally, the PROVE Act also provides $25 million in grants, over two years, for states to distribute to schools and … Continue Reading


April 25, 2022

Federal money to replace lead pipes is just a first step to cleaner drinking water in Chicago

by Anna-Lisa Castle

Seven of the top 10 states with the most lead pipes carrying drinking water into homes are in the Great Lakes region, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Illinois and Chicago also have the dubious honors of being at the top of the lists as the state and city with the most lead pipes of anywhere in the country. This means that millions of people drink and cook with water delivered through aging lead pipes. With water bills on the rise, many households are paying more for water … Continue Reading


April 21, 2022

Lead water line replacements in Illinois may soar well past 1 million

by Brett Chase

There are nearly 700,000 lead water lines to homes and businesses across Illinois - more than half in Chicago - that have to be replaced because they are made with brain-damaging lead, government officials warned. What's more, that number could be well over 1 million as the state has identified an additional 820,000 water service lines that are made of "unknown material," Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Director John Kim said at a hearing in Chicago held by U.S. Sen. Tammy … Continue Reading


April 20, 2022

Senator Duckworth comments on new environmental regulations

by Kelsey Anderson
Source: WREX

WASHINGTON - Following the announcement of the White House Council on Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act Phase 1 regulation, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth issued this statement: "Today's announcement from the Biden administration is an important development that will help restore the integrity of NEPA in a fair and balanced way, while increasing efficiencies across agencies and protecting our communities that have been ignored for too long. As the Bipartisan … Continue Reading


April 15, 2022

Congress Might Finally Do Something About The Exorbitant Cost Of Prison Phone Calls

by Jessica Schulberg
Source: HuffPost

For nearly 20 years, Martha Wright-Reed struggled to pay for phone calls with her incarcerated grandson, Ulandis Forte. He was imprisoned too far away for frequent visits, so phone calls were the main way they could stay in touch. But a few 15-minute phone calls a week cost $200 a month, and Wright-Reed found herself choosing between paying for her medication and speaking with her grandson. Wright-Reed has since passed away, and her grandson is no longer in prison. But a bill bearing her name … Continue Reading


April 13, 2022

'Crib bumper' ban passes congress, Biden expected to sign

by Kelsey Anderson
Source: WREX

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A new bill to protect babies from injury is making its way to the President's desk. New legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Rob Portman (R-OH) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) aims to protect infant lives by banning the sale of padded crib bumpers - which have been proven to pose an unnecessary, deadly risk to sleeping infants. The bill passed Congress yesterday and is now headed to the White House to be signed into law by President Joe Biden. … Continue Reading


April 07, 2022

Help for Long COVID? 2 Dems Introduce Bill to Help Those Still Suffering Months Later

by Linda Gaudino

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) introduced a new bill Thursday they say will help ensure accessible and affordable medical care and treatment for long COVID patients, including underserved populations. Long COVID is related to a combination of lingering symptoms in patients who recovered from acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. Fatigue, shortness of breath, brain fog, muscle pain and anxiety are just a few debilitating complications attached to the mystery … Continue Reading


April 07, 2022

U.S. Lawmakers Push to Expand Long Covid Treatment

by Madison Muller
Source: Bloomberg

A bill to increase funding for Long Covid treatment and clinics marks the latest push from lawmakers to confront chronic health problems related to the coronavirus that affect millions of Americans. The Treat Long Covid Act is a joint effort from Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, and Representative Ayanna Pressley, a Massachusetts Democrat. Both have been involved in efforts to bolster federal support for Long Covid research, treatment and education. Earlier this week, President … Continue Reading


April 04, 2022

Suburban flooding to be addressed with $1.5M in federal funding

by Roseanne Tellez
Source: WFLD

DOLTON, Ill. - Roughly $1.5 million in federal funding is on the way to address sewer repairs in the south suburbs of Dolton, Harvey, Riverdale and west suburban Stone Park. All of these communities have experienced issues with stormwater runoff that has caused flooding and sewage back-ups. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), working with Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin, not only want to mitigate flooding, they also want to protect the environment. "With the help of … Continue Reading


April 03, 2022

Extended Interview: Senator Tammy Duckworth on arming Ukraine, capping cost of insulin, investigating Jan. 6

Source: NEXSTAR

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (NEXSTAR) - Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) said she intends to push for Congress to approve a nationwide cap on the out-of-pocket cost of insulin before the November election. Duckworth also reacted to calls to arm Ukrainian forces in the war against Russia, calls to investigate the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and the road blocks in access to affordable health care in the Springfield … Continue Reading


March 30, 2022

Exclusive: Widow of D.C. police officer Jeff Smith, who died by suicide, says battling rioters on Jan. 6 "changed him"

by Michael Kaplan, Scott Macfarlane
Source: CBS

The widow of an officer who died by suicide after responding to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol is pressing Congress to pass legislation recognizing the trauma suffered by law enforcement officers who take their own lives, which she told CBS News would be a fitting legacy for her husband. Four officers who responded on Jan. 6 died by suicide within seven months of the attack. Earlier this month, Erin Smith received an email from Washington, D.C., with the result she had spent more than a … Continue Reading


March 28, 2022

U.S. Sen. Duckworth stops by Burr Ridge to celebrate culvert funding

by Jesse Wright

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth stopped by Burr Ridge on Saturday to celebrate securing federal funding for the Elm Street culvert which is expected to prevent flooding and could save the village close to $1 million in construction costs. The funding comes from the America Rescue Plan Act, a pool of federal money set aside to help communities hit hard by COVID-19. The village had long considered replacing the failing bit of infrastructure but with a much smaller and cheaper culvert, about 50 % … Continue Reading


March 26, 2022

The cost of prison phone calls is staggering. Congress has a chance to change that.

by Editorial Board

Picking up the phone and placing a call in the United States today requires little planning, and not much thought - unless you're in prison or jail, in which case the simple action becomes a tremendous undertaking. Congress now has an opportunity to reduce this burden. The cost to incarcerated people of communicating with the outside world is staggering: A 15-minute conversation with a loved one costs $5.74 on average; in some jurisdictions one minute costs more than one dollar; and that is … Continue Reading

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