Gov. Blagojevich is starting his second term making a smart choice for a top job. He's tapping wounded Iraq war vet Tammy Duckworth to be the new director of the Illinois Veterans' Affairs Department.

"I thought it was a natural fit for me and my background," Duckworth told me.
[...]
Duckworth, 38, as many know from her high-profile campaign, lost her legs and mangled an arm when her helicopter was hit in Iraq by a rocket-propelled grenade. Before she starts her state job, where she will oversee a $94.2 million budget and 1,135 employees, she will return to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington for a few days to get some adjustments to her prosthesis.

Duckworth said a priority will be bolstering Blagojevich's new "Veterans Care" program and "making it available to more veterans."

Low-income veterans between the ages of 19 and 64 who do not have medical, dental or vision insurance would be covered under a state plan for $40 a month. Only a handful of veterans have enrolled to date in the program launched last September.

- posted by Cynthia @ 10:30 AM | | | Link |