In The News
Exclusive: Widow of D.C. police officer Jeff Smith, who died by suicide, says battling rioters on Jan. 6 "changed him"
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
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.
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
March 25, 2022
Sen. Tammy Duckworth unveils legislation aimed to prevent gas price gouging, hold oil companies accountable
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WMBD) - A U.S. lawmaker is trying to provide relief at the pump and hold oil companies accountable. U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) is introducing the "Gas Price Gouging Prevention Act," looking to hold big oil companies responsible for price gouging. "Our working families are hurting right now," Duckworth told WMBD's Matt Sheehan during On the Record. "There's no question that big oil is gouging right now. The legislation I'm introducing would make it illegal for big oil … Continue Reading
March 25, 2022
Sen. Tammy Duckworth pushes for memorial to working women of World War II - CBS News exclusive
Senator Tammy Duckworth, Democrat of Illinois, knows firsthand the sacrifices of going to war and being a working mom. The Iraq war combat veteran and mother of two is using Women's History Month to make a renewed push for her legislation to establish a memorial in the nation's capital to honor the nearly 18 million women who worked on the home front during World War II. "We know all about the 'Rosie the Riveters' but I think most people are surprised when they hear we haven't honored them," … Continue Reading
March 23, 2022
Illinois senator proposes requiring oil companies to keep prices down
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) - With Americans paying more at the pump, Democrats and Republicans can't agree on the root of the problem and therefore aren't on the same page about solutions. Democrats say the problem is big oil companies. "They're jacking up their prices," Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said. "They're using Putin's unprovoked war as a reason to raise gas prices and increase shareholder and executive payouts. I think it's morally reprehensible." She argued that the companies are … Continue Reading
March 23, 2022
Senate approves bill to ban the sale of crib bumpers for infants
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved a bipartisan measure to ban the sale of crib bumpers, which have been linked to dozens of deaths of infants and more than 100 serious injuries since 1985. "Parents will have one less thing to worry about" when it becomes law, Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois said. The House of Representatives approved a related bill last year but will need to vote on the Senate's Safe Cribs Act before it can head to President Joe Biden's desk. "Crib bumper pads are an … Continue Reading
March 23, 2022
Marine Cpl. Ryan Cummings’ family is hoping the Crystal Lake Post Office will be renamed in his honor
Four years ago, John Cummings met U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth at Abraham Lincoln Cemetery in Elwood, where Cummings' son, Marine Cpl. Ryan J. Cummings, is buried, he said. Cummings, who said he visits the gravesite at least four times a year, asked Duckworth if she was familiar with his son's story. To his surprise, Cummings recalls, Duckworth pulled a photo of Ryan out of her pocket. Family members of Cpl. Ryan J Cummings, pictured above, are trying to get the Crystal Lake Post Office … Continue Reading
March 21, 2022
New Bipartisan Senate Bill Aims to Take Down Crib Bumpers: 'The Key Is Keeping Our Babies Safe'
For parents getting ready to bring a new little one home, there can be a long checklist of considerations and products to get. One of the biggest items on that checklist is the crib where the baby will sleep. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), a mother of two, vividly remembers this experience. She recalls being gifted bedding sets for both of her daughters' cribs. Those sets included crib bumpers, a product that line, and often pad, the perimeter of the crib. Initially, crib bumpers were … Continue Reading
March 08, 2022
Senators push to expand food aid for low-income troops - Roll Call
A bipartisan group of 14 senators is backing new legislation to change the rules for federal nutrition assistance so that more low-income troops and their families qualify. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., a former Army helicopter pilot, told CQ Roll Call she is filing the bill today to alter the rules governing the Agriculture Department's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Her bill would ensure that a servicemember's housing allowance, a stipend to cover most of the cost of an off-base … Continue Reading
March 04, 2022
Group of Bipartisan Senators Press Biden to Expedite Arms to Poland
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators are urging President Joe Biden to expedite a sale of arms to Poland amid Russian President Vladimir Putin's ongoing attack on Ukraine. The senators urged Biden to direct the Department of State and the Department of Defense to "take any steps they can to accelerate" the execution of the $6 billion deal. The plea was made in a letter sent to the president on Friday and signed by Democratic Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin of Illinois, Sherrod Brown … Continue Reading
March 02, 2022
Duckworth says Biden’s State of the Union address was unifying on Ukraine, understanding on pocketbook issues
President Joe Biden delivered his first State of the Union address Tuesday during a time of global unrest, ongoing frustration over rising costs at home and a pandemic that hasn't gone away. U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth said the president delivered a message of unity against Russia and a message of understanding the challenges people in middle America are facing. Appearing on WGLT's Sound Ideas, Duckworth said she was pleased Biden reasserted U.S. support for the "heroic" people of Ukraine as … Continue Reading
February 24, 2022
Sen. Duckworth responds to Russia invading Ukraine
(WAND) - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) has released a statement after Russia invaded Ukraine. Sen. Duckworth is a combat veteran and member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee. She spent 23 years in the Reserve Forces. "The human suffering caused-and any blood spilled-as a result of this unjustified and unjustifiable attack on Ukraine's sovereign territory are solely on Vladimir Putin's hands," Sen. Duckworth said. "Our nation, our NATO allies and all countries who value … Continue Reading
February 22, 2022
The Safe Crib Act is Trying to Put an End to Crib Bumpers Once and For All
When she was about 16 weeks pregnant, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth started planning for her firstborn with joy. After struggling for years with infertility and failed cycles of in vitro fertilization (IVF), she felt anxious, but ready to get the baby's nursery ready. With that came tons of time researching safe sleep for infants. "Then I have a baby shower," she recalls. "I get these beautiful bedding sets as part of my baby shower and inside the bedding sets are crib bumpers. And I remember … Continue Reading
February 20, 2022
Political heavyweights come to Waukegan to tout how President Biden’s infrastructure plan will benefit harbor; ‘This will advance the entire community’
Eradicating more than a century of contamination of Waukegan Harbor's water is a 30-year project so far, and the local share of $1 billion from President Joe Biden's bipartisan infrastructure plan for Great Lakes restoration will pay for the rest. A presidential adviser, a United States senator and four members of the U.S. House of Representatives explained how the restoration funding will help northeastern Lake County, as well as others living along the Great Lakes, Friday at City Hall … Continue Reading
February 13, 2022
Duckworth talks Ukraine, Supreme Court in Springfield interview
SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth reiterated her support for imposing "very strong sanctions" against Russia should it invade Ukraine, but acknowledged that any diplomatic or economic pressure may not be enough to dissuade Russian President Vladimir Putin from such an action. "I obviously want diplomacy to work," Duckworth said. "And I think that we have applied every tool in our arsenal diplomatically. At this point, it has always been whether they truly want a diplomatic solution or … Continue Reading
February 12, 2022
Pete Buttigieg joins Illinois leaders in Normal stop
Students in Heartland Community College's training program are at the "forefront of the electric vehicle revolution," U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Saturday. Buttigieg appeared at the college in Normal along with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth. The visit was meant to highlight work that the transportation department is doing to make electric vehicles accessible to more Americans. Heartland's electric vehicle and energy storage … Continue Reading
February 10, 2022
Duckworth, Durbin and Bustos push for completion of Quad-Cities passenger rail
Illinois Democratic Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin have joined with U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, in urging the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS) to finalize an agreement on the scope and costs of infrastructure upgrades needed so that construction can begin on the long awaited Quad Cities to Chicago passenger rail route. In order for passenger rail to be possible, an agreement would be needed between IDOT and IAIS that allows Amtrak … Continue Reading
February 09, 2022
Sen. Duckworth, Durbin request reinstatement of COVID-19 emergency paid sick and family leave
WASHINGTON, D.C. (KFVS) - Both U.S. Illinois Senators have signed a letter requesting the Biden Administration and House and Senate leaders to reinstate and expand emergency COVID-19 paid sick and family caregiving leave. The request comes after the recent spike in COVID-19 cases blamed on the highly contagious omicron variant. Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin joined 13 other Democrat Senators in sending the letter. The Senators want the reinstatement of the benefits in the FY22 … Continue Reading
February 02, 2022
Metra train yard to move from Crystal Lake to Woodstock
The Crystal Lake train yard is on track move to Woodstock following the bipartisan infrastructure deal signed by President Biden in November, a project highlighted by U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth in a visit to McHenry County Friday. The project is in the concept design phase and could take several years to come to fruition, Metra spokeswoman Meg Thomas-Reile said in the email. The legislation provides $8 to 10 million for engineering and design for the new full-service rail yards in Woodstock, … Continue Reading
