Herald and Review - U.S. Senate Candidate Duckworth visits Shelbyville

News Article

By Sharon Barricklow

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Tammy Duckworth of Hoffman Estates was in Shelbyville on Thursday afternoon telling supporters her personal story and promoting service and education as keys to economic growth.

Duckworth is running against Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk in the Nov. 8 election.

The congresswoman and retired lieutenant colonel, who lost both her legs in a helicopter crash while serving in the Army National Guard in Iraq, said that while she came from a family of military veterans, she also knew poverty when her father was unemployed for a long period.

She told the Shelbyville VFW audience about an English teacher who kept Duckworth and other students after school to work on projects in order to give them money for dinner at the end of the month when their families' food stamps had run out.

"On a teacher's salary, he fed us because he knew we wouldn't eat without him," she said. "That's an angel among us, the best of our country."

Duckworth said many Illinois residents have not benefited from economic recovery after the Great Recession.

"We hear the economy is getting better, but we don't see it," she said. "We have to do more."

She said free community college for students and more emphasis on training for careers in a new economy would help the economy grow.

During a question-and-answer time, Findlay resident David Johnson asked Duckworth what could be done to bring broadband internet services to rural areas.

"We need to get out of the dark," he said. "The companies that do provide some internet service here take the money and spend it in more populated areas. A lack of consistent high-speed broadband service is hurting us."

Duckworth said she thinks of internet service as a basic utility, like water or electricity, and promised to support rural broadband expansion.

"It's not a luxury like cable TV," she said. "Without it, you can't attract new business. You can't attract new industry. Companies aren't going to locate their plants or their management where they can't get quality service. That's just a fact."

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