Senator Tammy Duckworth received the ethanol award from the IL Corn Growers Association (ICGA) at the group’s annual meeting on November 22, 2022, in Bloomington.

Senator Duckworth co-sponsored the introduction of the Next Generation Fuels Act in the U.S. Senate in August of this year, a bill that will build ethanol demand and pave the way for corn-based ethanol to plan an important role in America’s clean energy future.

“Senator Duckworth has always been an ardent supporter of biofuels, particularly corn-based ethanol. As a veteran, she is interested in policies that promote national security, and using domestically grown fuel instead of importing petroleum and fighting wars to maintain access to petroleum is important to her,” said Marty Marr, ICGA President and farmer from New Berlin. “We are so grateful for her leadership on this bill that will impact farmers for 2-3 generations once we get it passed.”

When fully implemented, the Next Generation Fuels Action stands to increase long-term annual ethanol usage by more than 5 billion gallons. That’s equal to over 1.8 billion bushels of new annual corn demand.

Senator Duckworth is an Iraq War Veteran, Purple Heart recipient and former Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs who was among the first handful of Army women to fly combat missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Duckworth served in the Reserve Forces for 23 years before retiring at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 2014. She was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016 after representing Illinois’s Eighth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives for two terms.

Duckworth attended college at the University of Hawaii and earned a Master of Arts in International Affairs from the George Washington University. Following graduation, Duckworth moved to Illinois and began pursuing a Ph.D. in Political Science at Northern Illinois University and later worked for Rotary International. To this day, the Senator volunteers at local food pantries and participates in community service projects in her free time.

She and her husband Bryan are the proud parents of two daughters, Abigail and Maile.