Illinois congresswoman and Iraq War vet Tammy Duckworth, pregnant with her first child, is retiring from her post as a lieutenant colonel with the Illinois National Guard.
Duckworth, a Democrat repping western suburban Chicago, has served 23 years in the military, joining the Army Reserves in 1992 and the National Guard in 1996; in 2004, she lost both legs after her helicopter was shot down in Iraq.
The 46-year-old announced her pregnancy—she and husband Brian Bowlsbey are expecting a girl—on NBC's TODAY last month.
"I plan on continuing my civilian job, raising this baby and being as big a cheerleader of the Guard as I can," Duckworth said Tuesday in a statement on the National Guard's website. "I’ll be a Guard spouse, as my husband is still in."
Duckworth, who's due early December, is running for re-election on Nov. 4. She faces Republican Larry Kaifesh of Carpentersville, a fellow veteran.
