Fox News is drawing a great deal of blowback for a misleading headline about Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) not paying property taxes.

On Sunday, Fox published an online piece entitled “Democrat Tammy Duckworth hasn’t paid property tax on her Illinois home since 2015, report says.” The headline was accompanied by this subheading: “The U.S. senator takes advantage of a county tax break for disabled veterans that applies regardless of income, a report says.”

The report Fox aggregated comes from the Chicago Sun-Times, and it looks at how Duckworth is among the 27,000 homeowners in Cook County, IL who haven’t paid property taxes for years. As it were, Fox’s article acknowledges the reason for that is the senator is a disabled veteran and, therefore, eligible for a tax break.

Here’s how the network put it:

In Duckworth’s case, the 53-year-old U.S. senator pays zero in property taxes because she is a disabled U.S. military veteran with a 70% or higher disability rating, as determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

She and other similarly disabled veterans in Cook County who own homes get the tax break regardless of their income level, the Sun-Times reported.

Duckworth lost both of her legs and some use of her right arm after the helicopter she was piloting was hit by a rocket-fired grenade in Iraq in 2004.

The Sun-Times’ piece quotes Laurence Msall, president of a Chicago tax watchdog group, saying, “We grant people relief regardless of their income situation, and the rest of the community has to pay more. It’s unfair. It’s very hard to monitor. And it’s hard to authenticate who’s getting the value. Is it the needy people? Or is it a large giveaway?”

As it were, Fox’s headline blatantly suggests that Duckworth is freeloading off of her state. Between that and the article’s admission that Duckworth is a disabled veteran who qualifies for the exemption, many news observers were deeply unimpressed by the article’s apparent framing as a hit piece:

Nice job, @foxnew. Very little research would provide you information that all veterans receive a disability assessment on leaving the service & many (most) states provide property tax reduction based on the percentage of disability. https://t.co/aBmXckG0ej

— Mark Hertling (@MarkHertling) October 3, 2021

WHAT A BULLSHIT HEADLINE @FoxNews. In your own report, you state the reason why. As a disabled veteran, she is exempt. FOX News, are you seriously now going to attack our veterans in your assault on our Democracy? https://t.co/hZQbYaMZnD

— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) October 3, 2021

At the end of the day, no matter how high Tammy Duckworth rises she will still never walk again, and she lost the opportunity to ever do so by volunteering to serve her country in war. Even if she's as rich as Jeff Bezos, you still earned that tax break.

— Jeff B. is *BOX OFFICE POISON* (@EsotericCD) October 3, 2021

Tammy Duckworth is a double-amputee combat veteran.

Cook County gives veterans with disabilities a property-tax break. https://t.co/75khjmKV7L

— Ben Kesling (@bkesling) October 3, 2021

Fox News deliberately leaving out some very important context in their tweet headline. An absolutely shameless attack on a veteran who sacrificed both legs and part of an arm in combat. https://t.co/tjXHJD9qmi pic.twitter.com/qNeEsBZAYy

— Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) October 3, 2021

She is exempt from doing so in Illinois as a US military veteran with a 70% or higher disability rating — you bunch of fools.

How could you ignore that? https://t.co/kaCuZwUK4n

— Michael J. Stern (@MichaelJStern1) October 3, 2021

Headline: SENATOR IS TAX DEADBEAT

Article: Sen. Duckworth is one of thousands taking advantage of an Illinois provision lessening tax burdens for veterans.

(Do better, Fox News!) https://t.co/wtSH5QQ0i6

— Ben Rudolph (@BenThePCGuy) October 3, 2021

A “reporter” at @FoxNews, @DomCalicchioFOX, gets the “Partisan Scumbag Medal” for attempting to shame a war veteran who lost both of her legs in combat, ret. Army pilot @SenDuckworth.

She earned the, still earns, & suffers (ghost-pain) for every single penny of that tax-break! https://t.co/4quQ8Av11p

— Robert J. MacLean (@rjmaclean) October 3, 2021

Fox News is now attacking disabled veterans for having benefits for disabled veterans that were approved by lawmakers https://t.co/tWrMDF2cGP

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) October 3, 2021

In Illinois, a veteran with a 70% or more disability rating is exempt from property taxes on their primary home. Duckworth is a double amputee. pic.twitter.com/39VJmeJgD6

— Steve Beynon (@StevenBeynon) October 3, 2021

Is that the best you got? You mean our war hero Senator Duckworth should pay taxes when she is not required to do so? Wtf is wrong with you guys?!? Is this what you mean when you say SUPPORT OUR VETERANS?!? https://t.co/qKklZMICq4

— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) October 3, 2021

The post Fox News Blasted for ‘Shameless’ Misleading Headline on Disabled Veteran Tammy Duckworth first appeared on Mediaite.

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