Framing complete on Indoor Sports Center expansion

Construction workers and public officials including Senator Steve Stadelman gathered this week for a "topping off" ceremony at the Indoor Sports Center, where the last beam was lowered into place on a 133,000-square-foot expansion.

Stadelman passed legislation in his freshman year in the Illinois General Assembly in 2013 to provide a funding mechanism for $13 million in projects to help Rockford regain its dominance in the sports tourism market.

State funds help redesign dangerous Rockford road crossing

State Senator Steve Stadelman joined local officials to reopen the intersection of East State Street and Bell School Road this week.

Twenty years and 40,000 dictionaries later, charity homage turns its last page

Senator Steve Stadelman and other organizers of the Sara Ingrassia-Jackie Confer Dictionary Fund distributed 2,000 dictionaries to third-graders in the Rockford Public Schools for the last time this week, marking the end of a 20-year program that paid tribute to its namesakes and sent a message to young learners about the importance of education.  ​

“It was an emotional morning, especially for the volunteers who have given their time and money to this effort since the beginning,” said Stadelman, a committee member since 2009. “The program has never relied on public funding of any kind, and private donations remained steady. But the rise of technology has made hardcover reference books less and less relevant in the lives of adults and children.”

Courts reinstate same-day voter registration

Voters in Winnebago County will be able to register to vote and cast ballots on the same day after a federal appeals court last week temporarily blocked a lower court ruling against the legislation. The ruling suspends a court challenge to the law and allows same-day voting to occur Nov. 8 in Illinois.

Under the new law, supported by State Senator Steve Stadelman as an effort to expand participation in the electoral process, counties with more than 100,000 residents and smaller counties that keep electronic records must allow Election Day registration. The legal challenge came from a conservative policy institute that argued same-day voting slights rural areas that tend to favor Republican candidates.

Feds warn against ‘race to the bottom’ on workers’ comp

The U.S. Department of Labor is warning of a “race to the bottom” across America as states strip workers of vital workplace protections so that companies can save on workers’ compensation costs. Workers’ compensation has been a key issue in Illinois, and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s agenda includes dramatic reductions in worker protections. The labor department’s new report provides a disturbing look at what happened in other states when similar agendas took hold.

Stadelman disappointed in same-day voter registration ruling

State Senator Steve Stadelman expressed frustration with a judge’s decision last week to block some Election Day voter registrations in Illinois.

“While I respect the role of the judiciary in government, I'm disappointed any time access to the polls is restricted," said Stadelman, who supported the 2014 initiative to allow Election Day registration at Illinois polling places. "We should be working to make voting easier and encourage more participation in the electoral process."

The legal arm of a conservative political think tank backed by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner challenged the law in court in August. A judge last week ruled in its favor and issued a preliminary injunction.