ROCKFORD – State Senator Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) is pleased to announce the Illinois secretary of state’s announcement of the opening of a drive-vehicle registration facility in Rockford, beginning Tuesday.
“I’d like to thank the Secretary of State for including Rockford in the first stage of his reopening plan,” Stadelman said. “Access to facilities like the DMV are a necessary part of moving forward and getting back to some semblance of normal, everyday life.”
The facility will only be offering drive-thru services for vehicle registration sticker transactions. According to the Secretary of State’s office, the opening of the facility is the first step of a reopening plan that will be announced in the coming days. The plan will include guidance on how to properly protect customers and employees.
“My commitment is to do everything we can to help protect the health and safety of our residents, while providing services to the people of Illinois,” said Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White. “This first step in a reopening plan adheres to this commitment.”
Hours of operation for the Rockford facility will be Tuesday 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Wednesday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 7:30 a.m. to noon.
All expiration dates for driver’s licenses, ID cards and vehicle registrations have been extended at least 90 days after Driver Services facilities fully reopen. The federal government has also extended the REAL ID deadline by one year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The deadline is now October 1, 2021.
Stadelman continues to urge the residents to renew their vehicle registration stickers online at www.cyberdriveillinois.com for anyone who can do so. Residents can also renew their driver’s license online through the Safe Driver Renewal program, as well as obtain duplicate driver’s licenses and ID cards.
ROCKFORD – State Senator Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) is encouraging residents to participate in the Citizens Utility Board’s (CUB) ongoing Virtual Utility Bill Clinic to potentially save money during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As more people spend time at home, energy usage has gone up, which means monthly utility bills are going up as well,” Stadelman said. “Families already have additional financial burdens in this uncertain time. I encourage residents to use CUB’s online clinics to help them reduce their bills.”
To participate, residents should send a copy of their most recent electric, natural gas and telecom bills to CUB at
A CUB specialist will evaluate the bill to determine if you are signed up with an alternative supplier or if you are paying for unnecessary products or services. CUB will also let you know if you are eligible for money-saving programs, like financial assistance, and share information about energy-efficiency programs.
Stadelman encourages residents to take advantage of CUB’s free utility bill clinics so to help keep their utility usage and costs in check. For more information on the program, please visit www.citizensutilityboard.org.
ROCKFORD –State Senator Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) encouraged Winnebago County residents to fill out the 2020 Census, protecting their representation in government and share of federal funding.
“The census is an incredibly important tool that the federal government uses to determine how much money will be given to the Rockford and surrounding areas,” Stadelman said. “Filling out the census is easier than ever before with the new online questionnaire option. For a family of six, it took me 10 minutes to fill out.”
In 2010, Winnebago county had a final response rate of 72.5%. So far this year, Winnebago’s response rate is down, currently only at 67%. More than half of the county’s residents’ responses have been submitted online.
“If the Rockford area is undercounted, we will receive less money, less representation and less influence across the state and country,” Stadelman said. “It’s up to us to be counted, or we will be counted out.”
Although online is the quickest way to fill out the questionnaire, there are three ways you can respond: online, by phone or by mail. Stadelman also pointed out that higher self-response rates mean fewer individuals are likely to receive visits from census surveyors to be counted in-person. This year, census surveyors are putting the health of themselves and their families at risk from COVID-19.
If you haven’t filled out your census questionnaire yet, you can visit 2020census.gov, where you can find the online questionnaire and additional information about the census. To see local responses rates across Illinois and the entire nation, visit www.censushardtocountmaps2020.us.
ROCKFORD - To help local health departments sustain their COVID-19 response efforts in addition to their basic functions, State Senator Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) and other downstate Senate Democrats are pushing to double state funding to support local health departments for the coming year.
The plan would increase funding for Local Health Protection Grants to $36 million in the state’s next budget, which Stadelman agrees is key to opening up the economy.
“Winnebago County’s recovery from COVID-19 will definitely need a fully staffed and better funded health department, and I think it’s safe to say that nearly all 100 other local health departments are in the same situation,” Stadelman said. “We need these departments operating as efficiently as possible if we want to reopen our state and local economies.”
With mounting fiscal uncertainty for county and municipal budgets, local public health efforts could be severely effected. As a member of the Senate Public Health Committee, Stadelman believes the state needs to reinforce support for local health departments.
“We are living in an unprecedented time,” Stadelman said. “We need to ensure that local health departments continue to be fully funded as local governments begin to cut back on spending.”
Local Health Protection Grants provide funding to certified local health departments to ensure that basic levels of protection for Illinois residents are maintained at the community level for infectious diseases, food protection, safety of potable water supply and private sewage disposal. Funds are distributed by the Illinois Department of Public Health based on a formula that includes population and poverty levels within each jurisdiction.
ROCKFORD —The City of Rockford has been awarded a total of $520,000 to help area homeowners with repairs, State Senator Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) announced.
“At some point in life almost everyone needs emergency home repairs,” Stadelman said. “At any time, these repairs can cause serious financial strain for families, and this is especially true right now.”
The Illinois Housing Development Authority Board of Directors awarded the City of Rockford the grant to help low-income homeowners with necessary home repairs. The group awarded $11,000,000 statewide through the state’s Single Family Rehabilitation Program. The lump sum is projected to help at least 326 families.
The Single Family Rehabilitation Program provides forgivable loans of up to $45,000 per household to assist with necessary repairs to remove documented health and safety hazards. Eligible repairs include roofing, flooring and plumbing, among others.
A roof-only option is also available for people who do not need other repairs. Those recipients are offered up to $16,500 to mitigate against future roof damage.
“The funds that have been awarded to Rockford will provide much needed relief to these families who are already experiencing the added stress of the uncertain times we’re living in,” Stadelman said. “I’m asking anyone who needs additional assistance to apply for help.”
Households that are eligible can find additional information on The Illinois Housing Development Authority’s website, www.ihda.org.
ROCKFORD – A law passed by State Senator Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) could be used to ease the pain for businesses and employees during the tough economic times caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It will also allow Illinois to take advantage of millions of dollars in federal funding designed to reimburse states for their work share programs. However, former Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration never wrote the rules needed to implement the law.
The law changed how unemployment benefits are paid in Illinois, potentially reducing layoffs and improving state finances. It created "work-share" benefits, which are meant to assist struggling employers, allowing them to temporarily reduce employee hours rather than lay off workers. At the same time, workers can collect partial unemployment compensation while staying on the job part-time. This program would also help the state save money by not having to pay full benefits for employees drawing from unemployment.
Read more: Stadelman: Illinois needs to implement Work Share law now
SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) is taking action to ensure that local journalism survives in Illinois’ small towns and mid-sized cities.
“As a former journalist and news anchor, I know how important it is to have access to truly local news,” Stadelman said. “People deserve to know what’s happening in their communities, regardless of where they live.”
Senate Bill 3457 would create the Local Journalism Task Force, which would be made up of 10 individuals representing print and broadcast media, journalism schools, and state and local government. They would be charged with conducting a study on communities underserved by local journalism and making recommendations on how to preserve and restore news coverage in these areas.
“Your address should not dictate the quality and type of information you have access to,” Stadelman said. “This measure is meant to start a conversation and provide new ideas to help address shrinking press coverage in local communities.”
Declines in advertising revenue and circulation have meant that nearly half of the newsroom jobs at newspapers that existed in 2004 have since disappeared—and more than 2,000 thousand papers around the country have closed over the past 15 years.
If passed, the task force would be required to submit the findings from its study to the governor’s office, as well as the General Assembly, no later than January 1, 2022.
SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) has introduced a bill that would make a civil no contact order permanent if an individual is criminally convicted of sexual assault.
Under current law, sexual assault survivors must see their alleged assailants in court every two years to renew their no contact orders.
“Survivors of sexual assault have to live day in and day out with the trauma caused by assault,” Stadelman said. “The least we can do to help them, is not to force them to relive their trauma every two years.”
The legislation is an initiative of the City of Rockford.
“If an individual believes that it’s in the best interest of their safety to extend an order of no contact against their criminally convicted perpetrator, they should have the right to do so,” Stadelman said. “People should have the right to feel safe in their daily lives without having to endlessly go to court.”
The City of Rockford worked with the Rockford Sexual Assault Counsel (RSAC), which suggested the lifetime order of protection. Similar protections are already in place for stalking victims.
Senate Bill 3617 awaits a Senate committee assignment.
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