U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth visited Will’s Place, in Skokie, this Monday, Nov. 4. The Democratic senator from Illinois and Iraq War veteran spoke to a crowd of constituents who had come to see her, including Will’s Place employees, who prepared a catering order for poll workers in Evanston during election day as Senator Duckworth was speaking to attendees.
Will’s Place, a café that aims to provide employment for young adults with disabilities (who often struggle to find jobs), is open from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. The café is named after Will Shlegal, the son of founder Joan Hallagan, who has a disability and works in the kitchen. The establishment was also sponsored by Niles North’s Dance Marathon during the 2023–2024 school year.
Several other politicians joined Senator Duckworth, including Illinois Lieutenant Governor Julia Stratton and Skokie mayoral candidate David “Azi” Lifsics, among others. In a speech to attendees, they praised the hard work done by Illinois residents who campaigned for current U.S. vice president and presidential candidate Kamala Harris. According to Senator Duckworth, Illinois residents called and met with voters, both in Illinois and in other states (like Michigan), to try to convince them to vote for Harris.
North Star News was able to contact Senator Duckworth while she was in town, and got responses from her on several important topics.
Why did it feel important to you to come to Will’s Place? Getting out into the community and meeting with constituents is one of the most important and most exciting parts of my job. I was glad to come to Will’s Place to meet with the owners and employees and see the positive impact the cafe is having on the folks who work here and the community as a whole.
What issues are you working on right now as a senator? One of the issues I’ve been really focusing on recently is pushing to make sure women have access to health care and the right to make decisions about their own bodies. I also serve on four committees in the Senate: Armed Services; Foreign Relations; Commerce, Science and Transportation; and Small Business, so I’m often focused on issues related to those committees, like helping bring investments back to our state, making air travel safer and protecting and championing our men and women in uniform.
How are you feeling as the presidential and other elections are about to get underway? In the past weeks and months I’ve been traveling the country to help support my fellow Democratic senators who are up for re-election in tight races, like Sherrod Brown in Ohio, Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin, Jacky Rosen in Nevada, and Bob Casey in Pennsylvania, as well as in support of the Harris-Walz campaign around the country. I’ve seen a lot of enthusiasm on the ground, but I know this is going to be a close race. I’m proud to see all of the efforts to knock [on] doors, make phone calls, and get our voices heard by so many in Illinois this election.
What kinds of things do you like to do when you are not serving in Congress? Any free time I have when not serving in Congress in Washington D.C. or traveling Illinois meeting with constituents, I try to spend with my two daughters.
