State of the Union Guests

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Sergeant First Class Pedro Ortiz-Ramon from Chicago, Illinois who will be his guest for President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address. Since 2005, when he hosted Army Major Tammy Duckworth, Durbin has invited wounded Illinois soldiers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan as his guests for the State of the Union address. Congresswoman Duckworth’s guest – Denise Reed, the mother of a fourteen year old honor roll student who was killed by a stray bullet from an AK-47 near her home in Chicago – also attended the meeting.