Press Releases
Duckworth, Durbin Announce Nearly $700,000 For Housing Programs In Illinois
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that three housing authorities across Illinois will receive a total of $696,023 in federal funding to support public housing needs in the community. This funding comes through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Emergency Safety and Security Grant (ESSG) program. "Children and families in need across Illinois rely on investments like these that help improve housing … Continue Reading
July 24, 2020
Duckworth, Durbin, Illinois Delegation Discuss COVID-19 With Chicago Mayor Lightfoot
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with several members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation, spoke with Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot about Chicago's ongoing COVID-19 pandemic response and how they can continue to assist her efforts to protect Illinoisans as the state re-opens. The group discussed how federal support can provide Illinois families and businesses with relief from the health and economic consequences of the pandemic, and … Continue Reading
July 23, 2020
Duckworth Discusses Barriers Faced by Minority-Owned Businesses, Highlights Need to do more to Ensure Equal Access to Capital Especially during COVID-19 Pandemic
[WASHINGTON, DC] - During a U.S. Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship hearing about capital access for minority-owned small businesses, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) discussed the barriers facing minority-owned small businesses and asked what changes Congress should make to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and to traditional lending structures to make sure borrowers of color can access small business loans. Video of Duckworth's questions at today's hearing is available … Continue Reading
July 23, 2020
Senate Passes Duckworth’s Defense Bill Provisions to Support Servicemembers and Enhance Military Modernization Efforts
[WASHINGTON, DC] - Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a Purple Heart recipient and one of the first handful of Army women to fly combat missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom, highlighted several key priorities she authored and successfully included in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that passed the U.S. Senate on a bipartisan vote of 86-14 today. The NDAA authorizes funding for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), sets our nation's … Continue Reading
July 23, 2020
Duckworth Leads Colleagues in Demanding Answers from SBA on Closure of the Program that Promoted Racial Diversity in Boardrooms Across the Country
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, along with seven of her colleagues, sent a letter to Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Jovita Carranza inquiring as to why the Open Network for Board Diversity (ONBOARD) initiative has been shut down. The ONBOARD initiative was one of the first of its kind in the public sector to advance the pipeline of individuals from underrepresented … Continue Reading
July 23, 2020
Duckworth, Durbin Announce More Than $10 Million For Head Start Programs In The City of Chicago
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Administration for Children and Families has awarded a total of $10,050,044 to support Head Start and Early Head Start programs in the City of Chicago. Head Start and Early Head Start provide comprehensive child development programs for low-income children from birth to age five. "Programs like Head Start and Early Head Start are critical to … Continue Reading
July 23, 2020
Duckworth Introduces Bill to Invest in Coal Workers and Revitalize Coal Communities
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - With alternatives to coal continuing to gain market share, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today introduced a bill to help ensure that coal workers and coal communities around the country have the resources they need to transition local economies to 21st Century alternatives. When a coal power plant or mine closes, its community loses skilled workers, high-paying jobs and major contributions to local tax revenue, which can result in a negative spiral and threaten the … Continue Reading
July 22, 2020
Duckworth Joins Harris, Colleagues to Demand Answers on Federal Law Enforcement Presence in American Cities
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) and 15 of their colleagues in sending a letter to Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, Acting Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection Mark Morgan and Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Matthew Albence demanding answers about the use of federal law enforcement against protestors expressing their constitutional First Amendment rights. "Over the past week, … Continue Reading
July 22, 2020
Duckworth, Durbin Join Senator Casey & Senate Colleagues in Urging Significant New, Flexible Funding for State and Local Governments
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and 34 of their colleagues to urge Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to support the funding amount and proposed funding flexibility for state and local governments that was included in the HEROES Act passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. The funding includes $500 billion for states, $375 billion for local governments and $20 billion each for territories and tribal … Continue Reading
July 22, 2020
Duckworth, Durbin Statement On Expansion Of DOJ Operation Legend To Chicago
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement regarding the Department of Justice (DOJ) announcing an expansion of Operation Legend to Chicago, Illinois. Operation Legend is DOJ's violent crime reduction initiative with the stated goal to provide support and assistance to state and local law enforcement partners as they work to combat violent crime, and gun violence in particular. Duckworth and Durbin are set to speak … Continue Reading
July 22, 2020
Duckworth, Durbin Join Senate Colleagues to Introduce John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and 45 of their Senate colleagues in introducing the bipartisan John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, a bill to restore the landmark Voting Rights Act, end the scourge of minority voter suppression, and help preserve the legacy of John Lewis - one of America's greatest civil rights heroes. In 2013, the Supreme Court's Shelby County v. Holder decision gutted critical voter … Continue Reading
July 21, 2020
Duckworth Statement on Trump Order to Exclude Undocumented Immigrants from Census Count for Congressional Districts
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released the following statement in response to President Donald Trump's memorandum seeking to exclude undocumented immigrants from being counted in congressional districts when district lines are redrawn: "Once again the Trump Administration is attempting to undermine this constitutional requirement, threatening to hurt many vulnerable communities," Duckworth said. "A census that's not fair and accurate means less representation … Continue Reading
July 21, 2020
Durbin, Duckworth Call Out President Trump On Reports Of Plan To Send Secret Police To Chicago
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Following reports that President Donald Trump wants to send federal agents into cities, including Chicago, to conduct policing activities that are traditionally handled by local law enforcement, U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sent a letter to President Trump calling on him to refrain from taking this action, which is opposed by Governor Pritzker, Mayor Lightfoot, and other local leaders. "With the right leadership, federal law … Continue Reading
July 21, 2020
Duckworth, Durbin Introduce Legislation to Block Federal Paramilitary Occupations in Chicago or Any American City with Senators Merkley & Wyden
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and 17 of their Senate colleagues to block the Trump administration from deploying federal forces as a shadowy paramilitary against Americans. The Preventing Authoritarian Policing Tactics on America's Streets Act, which was also introduced as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, comes after a week in which heavily armed, unmarked federal … Continue Reading
July 21, 2020
Duckworth, Durbin Announce More Than $739 Million In Hospital Funding for COVID-19 Care In Illinois
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that Illinois will receive a total of $739,971,747 in federal funding to support hospitals in Illinois providing COVID-19 care in communities across Illinois. The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Health Provider Relief Fund and will help support more than 60 hospitals serving areas treating a large number of COVID-19 patients - many of which are communities … Continue Reading
July 17, 2020
Duckworth, Durbin Join Leader Schumer & Senate Democrats in Announcing Historic $350 Billion Investment in Black Communities and Communities of Color
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and 12 of their colleagues yesterday in unveiling the Economic Justice Act, a major new legislative proposal to make $350 billion in immediate and long-term investments in Black communities and other communities of color. For far too long, Congress has underfunded critical priorities like public health, child care, infrastructure, and job creation in these … Continue Reading
July 17, 2020
Duckworth Responds to ICE’s “Citizens Academy” Pilot Program in Chicago
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement after reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), led by the agency's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) branch, will launch a pilot program in Chicago, IL, to teach civilians "firearms familiarization" and "targeted arrests." "This PR move by ICE is remarkably misguided, will do nothing to make communities any safer and should never have been proposed in the first place, much less … Continue Reading
July 17, 2020
Duckworth, Durbin Senate Dems Press Trump Admin to Reverse Move Undermining COVID-19 Hospital Data Collection & Reporting
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and 43 of their Democratic Senate colleagues in a letter to Vice President Mike Pence and Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx, urging the Trump Administration to reverse recent changes requiring hospitals to report COVID-19 data to a new system set up by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) instead of the National Healthcare Safety Network … Continue Reading
July 17, 2020
Duckworth, Durbin Join Colleagues to Introduce Legislation to Support Bias and Anti-Racism Trainining in COVID-19 Response
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) and colleagues in introducing the COVID-19 Bias and Anti-Racism Training Act, legislation to ensure health providers and other individuals involved in COVID-19 testing, treatment, vaccine distribution, and response receive bias and anti-racism training. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the urgent need to address longstanding biases in our health care system. … Continue Reading
July 17, 2020
Duckworth Discusses COVID-19 Impact with Metro East Small Business Owners
[BELLEVILLE, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with local business owners from Metro East to discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted their businesses. Duckworth discussed the successes and limitations of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), negotiations on the next relief package and future support that can be provided from the federal level with the local small business owners. At today's roundtable were representatives from the Wine Tap in Belleville, Seams for the … Continue Reading
