* Tribune…

Fresh off a stinging defeat for Congress in 2006, Democrat Tammy Duckworth was asked by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich to head Illinois’ Veterans’ Affairs Department and instantly handed a list of new missions to accomplish.

Her top priority, Blagojevich declared, was to step up efforts to sign people up for the state’s fledgling Veterans Care program, an initiative aimed at providing affordable and comprehensive health coverage to “thousands of Illinois veterans.”

At its high-water mark during her tenure, however, the program averaged fewer than 100 veterans enrolled, state records showed.

Now Duckworth is pointing to her work assisting veterans as a big reason voters should promote her from the U.S. House to the Senate as she challenges Republican Sen. Mark Kirk.

A Chicago Tribune examination of Duckworth’s record after a decade in public service shows several of her initiatives at the state VA fell flat, her subsequent post at the federal VA mostly focused on public relations and her two terms in Congress have been marked by only a few legislative successes.

The story reads almost like a massive oppo dump. It’s very long, but go check it out.

*** UPDATE ***  From Duckworth’s campaign…

Good afternoon —

You probably saw this morning’s Tribune story, and I wanted to take an opportunity to set the record straight. Despite promising a comprehensive look at Tammy’s record, the story is an almost entirely negative collection of disconnected data points, and fixates on issues over which Congresswoman Duckworth had little actual authority. Moreover, legitimate and tangible accomplishments are mentioned only in passing, or ignored completely.

Tammy Duckworth’s work at the VA was praised by President Obama for, among other things, “helping to cut the number of homeless veterans in half.” In Congress, Tammy helped protect service members from predatory lending and pass legislation to help Veterans transition their skill sets to civilian work. And, Tammy co-authored the Clay Hunt SAV Act, which has improved mental health care for Veterans and is named after someone with whom Tammy worked. To quote President Obama, the Clay Hunt Act “is saving lives right now, and that’s because of Tammy.”

At the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, Tammy:

Implemented a first-in-the-nation mandatory PTSD screening program for Veterans
Created the first state-run 24-hour suicide prevention hotline
Allocated IDVA funds to increase counseling for post-traumatic stress disorder
Increased the rate at which Illinois helped Veterans find jobs from 34% to 62%
Helped start two legal assistance programs for Veterans in Illinois

These are among the reasons President Obama called Tammy, “a passionate advocate with a record to match” and why Tammy earned the following recognitions:

The AMVETS Civil Servant Of The Year Award
Veterans and Military Families for Progress’ Lifetime Achievement Award
Illinois’ Abraham Lincoln Veteran Champion Award
Disabled American Veterans’ 2008 Outstanding Disabled Veteran of the Year

The Tribune also focused on the deeply flawed Veterans Care program, which had been established and widely criticized before Tammy began her tenure at the IDVA. Tammy spoke publicly about the program’s issues in 2007, criticizing it for setting eligibility requirements too narrowly, which prevented Veterans from getting the care they needed. The story also fails to note that Tammy mitigated the issues with the program by channeling money to where it would be more effective until she was able to convince lawmakers to expand the eligibility rules, which happened toward the end of her tenure. As a result, access to care for more Veterans increased as she was leaving the Department.

The bottom line is that since recovering from her wounds at Walter Reed, Tammy Duckworth has dedicated her life to helping Veterans, and she’s achieved tangible results. It is of course fair to look at that record in total, but today’s Tribune story unfortunately fails to do that. Please see the documentation below, which highlights additional accomplishments with regard to Veterans, and feel free to reach out with any questions.

Thanks!

Matt McGrath

Deputy Campaign Manager
Tammy for Illinois

The rest of the e-mail is here.