“I remember my mother taking me as a very little kid to the roof of our home in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to look at the bombs exploding in the distance. She didn't want us to be scared by the booms and the strange flashes of light. It was her way of helping us to understand what was happening.”

American politician and Army National Guard veteran

Ladda Tammy Duckworth is an American politician and Army National Guard veteran. She has served as the junior United States senator from Illinois since 2017 and previously represented Illinois's 8th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Duckworth's public career has centered on federal office and military service. She is known for her work in Congress and the Senate, where her name is associated with Illinois politics and national policymaking.