Press Releases

Duckworth, Durbin Announce $208 Million in Federal Funding to Help Illinoisans Heat Their Homes This Winter

[SPRINGFIELD, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced $208,170,481 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to help Illinoisans pay the rising cost of home heating bills this winter. For more than 40 years, LIHEAP has provided assistance to help low-income individuals and families maintain healthy indoor temperatures during the coldest mo… Continue Reading

New Report from Duckworth, Warren, Hirono, Smith: Healthcare Providers Speak Out on Devastating Harm and Mortal Threats to Women Posed by State Abortion Bans

U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Tina Smith (D-MN) in releasing a new report: Post-Roe Abortion Bans Threaten Women's Lives: Healthcare Providers Speak Out on the Devastating Harm Posed by Abortion Bans and Restrictions. The 23-page report-based on information provided by leading healthcare providers-reveals the devastating consequences of state abortion bans and restrictions enacted by right-wing legislatures and the impac… Continue Reading

Duckworth, Durbin Announce $36 Million in Federal Funding to Bring High-Speed Internet Access to Communities Across Rural Illinois

[SPRINGFIELD, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced $36,103,607 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to bring high-speed internet access to people living and working across 13 counties in Illinois. Today's investments include funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which provided a historic $65 billion to expand reliable, affordable, high-speed internet to all communities… Continue Reading

 In The News

Ukrainian Woman Reunited With Family After Being Released From Immigration Detention

A woman escaping the war in Ukraine who was detained without explanation in Chicago earlier this year has been reunited with family members after months of waiting and uncertainty. Inna Antoniak was released from a Kansas City-area immigration detention facility in late September, more than two months after she was detained by ICE agents at O'Hare International Airport. "First I heard crying, and it was my aunt," Vitalina Olevych, Antoniak's aunt, recounted learning of her release. "She was sa… Continue Reading

Sen. Duckworth introduces bill to improve internet access for people with disabilities

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) introduced a bill Thursday that aims to improve internet access for people with disabilities. Access has been especially difficult for blind and low-vision people, who have had issues using websites and have been pushing for improvements for years. Some of the most common issues, according to advocates supporting the bill, involve images and other items, such as buttons or headings on a website, being unlabeled or mislabeled in a way that blind people cannot na… Continue Reading

Illinois announces agreement in $2.6 billion agricultural deal with Taiwan

CHICAGO - Via a letter of intent, Governor Pritzker announced alongside Taiwanese leaders for the sale of about $2 million of Illinois soybeans and $600 million of Illinois corn over the next two years. The intended sales will take place over 2023 and 2024. "This is a win for our agricultural community - and a testament to the labor that our farmers put in day and day out to make us a top global producer of corn and soybeans," said Governor JB Pritzker. "I have no doubt that Illinois and Taiw… Continue Reading

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