Illinois Senate campaign targets 'war hero' veterans record

Yet, the Democratic Senate hopeful now finds her record on helping military veterans under attack by her opponent, Republican Sen. Mark Kirk, as he tries to hold on to a seat Democrats believe is key to their efforts to regain the Senate majority.

Garrett Anderson, who lost part of one arm and suffered traumatic brain injury in a roadside-bomb attack in Iraq, said Duckworth was the first service member the U.S. Army sniper spoke to when he woke up from a coma at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in 2005.

VA Hospital near Chicago who say they took their concerns to Duckworth and other Democrats but heard nothing, and to an Illinois Auditor General report of the state Department of Veterans' Affairs that found inadequate financial controls and programs that were supposed to be implemented but weren't during the time Duckworth was leading the office.

The two other employees, whose lawsuit is in court Thursday, say she tried to fire one employee and gave another a bad review that cost her raises after the women complained about facility leadership at an Illinois VA home, where they still work.

Among Duckworth's accomplishments, her campaign says, is launching the first 24-hour hotline for suicidal veterans and introducing legislation to improve mental health treatment that was signed by President Obama.

Jon Soltz, who leads the liberal political action committee VoteVets, which is backing Duckworth, said the group is prepared to spend significant money to attack Kirk.