We endorse Duckworth with the expectation that she stay focused on cost cutting as the nation navigates a debt crisis that much of official Washington recklessly ignores. We endorse her with the expectation she will challenge her party's leaders. We endorse her with the realization that Illinois already has one fierce Democratic loyalist in the Senate, Dick Durbin. If she's elected, it will be Duckworth's job to also represent the many Republican and independent Illinoisans who won't have voted for her but who deserve a voice.