SPRINGFIELD - One month ago, Tammy Duckworth looked to be on the fast track to an important job in President Barack Obama's new administration.

The Hoffman Estates resident quit her job as head of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs on Feb. 6 and prepared to become the face of the federal VA as the assistant secretary of public and intergovernmental affairs.

One month later, that fast track to Washington, D.C., isn't moving so fast.

It turns out Obama did not actually nominate Duckworth on Feb. 3, but only indicated his intent to nominate the Iraq war veteran. The White House has still not sent Duckworth's nomination to the U.S. Senate.

"We're still waiting for the nomination," said Kawika Riley, press secretary for the Senate's veterans affairs committee. "When the paper comes we'll be very happy."

A White House spokeswoman told the Daily Herald Tuesday there is no specific reason for the delay in formally nominating Duckworth. Of the thousands of government positions appointed by the White House and needing Senate confirmation, only 42 have been sent up to Capitol Hill. Four of those nominees withdrew following problematic background checks.

Long delays filling positions at the start of new administrations are not unusual, agreed VA spokeswoman Jo Schuda.

"We don't even have names of people for most of the other positions," Schuda said. "The naming of her was pretty swift."

Attempts to reach Duckworth on Monday and Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Should the nomination ever come, Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel K. Akaka, a Hawaii Democrat, already signaled his support for Duckworth, calling her a "fine choice" and "a source of inspiration for the newest generation of veterans." Duckworth's nomination must be approved by the Veterans Affairs Committee and the full Senate before she can take her post.

In February, VA head Eric K. Shinseki said Duckworth would bring "significant talent, leadership and personal experience to this important work."

For the time being, E. Phillip Riggin, a career executive service employee, is doing Duckworth's job on an acting basis.

Few potential nominees can match Duckworth's connections to the president. She campaigned with Obama several times during his 2008 presidential bid and gave the keynote speech on veterans issues at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Obama and Duckworth laid a wreath together at a soldiers memorial in Chicago on Veterans Day.

In 2006, Duckworth's own run for Congress against Wheaton Republican Peter Roskam was encouraged by Obama strategist David Axelrod. Duckworth narrowly lost to Roskam, but was later appointed by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich to head the Illinois veterans agency.

In Iraq, Duckworth was an assistant operations officer for a 500-soldier aviation task force. She lost both of her legs when she was hit by a rocket propelled grenade while piloting a helicopter in 2004.