June 19, 2025

Duckworth Commemorates Juneteenth in Peoria

 

[PEORIA, IL] — U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today celebrated and honored Juneteenth in Peoria, attending the Inaugural Jubilee Day Juneteenth Celebration at Glen Oak Park with Pastor Marvin Hightower, President of NAACP Peoria branch, and local community members. Following the celebration, Duckworth met with the Peoria Black Chamber of Commerce to discuss the challenges facing local Black business owners, including the how Trump’s chaotic trade policies are hurting them. Photos from the Inaugural Jubilee Day Juneteenth Celebration are available on the Senator’s website. Photos from the Peoria Black Chamber of Commerce meeting are also available on the Senator’s website.

“Juneteenth is about recognizing the history of our country and working together to bring equity and justice to Black Americans,” Duckworth said. “For me, that means using my position as a Senator to tackle issues that disproportionally impact Black communities—from fighting to reduce our nation’s maternal mortality rate to advocating for communities of color facing the harshest consequences of the environmental justice crisis and ensuring Black Americans have the financial freedom and economic opportunities they need to thrive. As Trump and the Republicans continue to spread hate and divisiveness, I will always be an advocate for our communities of color.”

Juneteenth celebrates the day enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, Texas, learned of their emancipation, two years after the official abolition of the institution of slavery. 

As co-chair and co-founder of the U.S. Senate Environmental Justice Caucus, Duckworth has been a strong advocate for bringing environmental justice to Illinois and across the country. She led the charge in the U.S. Senate to remove lead drinking water pipes across the country. Her Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act (DWWIA), which was included in the BIL, is the most significant federal investment in water infrastructure in history, including $15 billion for national lead service line replacement. DWWIA, which focuses on disadvantaged communities, is helping rebuild our nation’s crumbling and dangerous water infrastructure and enable communities to repair and modernize their failing wastewater systems.

In March, Duckworth issued a statement alongside Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), fellow founding co-chair of the Senate’s first Environmental Justice Caucus, condemning the Trump Administration for taking actions to shut down all EPA environmental justice offices and slash dozens critical regulations that help protect public health and environment.

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