New law by Stadelman protects students from lunch shaming

In many school districts, students who are unable to pay for lunch can be stigmatized with a special wristband or handstamp, and in some cases even denied lunch.

To stop this practice known as “lunch shaming” in Illinois, State Senator Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) sponsored and passed Senate Bill 2428 through the Illinois General Assembly. Yesterday, the governor signed the proposal into law.

“This is a cruel practice that blames kids for mistakes made by their parents,” Stadelman said. “It’s our responsibility to ensure that all students, no matter their background or parents’ income level, have an opportunity to eat.”

Under Stadelman’s proposal, every school will be required to provide a meal to a student that requests one. While the school can contact the parents directly to request they pay for the child’s lunch, they are prevented from throwing the meal out, forcing the student to wear a wristband or otherwise stigmatizing them. If the school district is owed at least $500 by a student’s parents and they have made a reasonable effort to collect the debt, the district can request the comptroller withhold tax refunds to parents to pay off the debt.

The proposal will go into effect immediately.

Senator Stadelman's Weekly Bulletin - August 16, 2018

Stadelman honored for 100% pro-environment voting record

State Senator Steve Stadelman has received a perfect rating from the Illinois Environmental Council. The nonpartisan advocacy group recognized Stadelman for supporting legislation to increase the use of compost in transportation projects and help communities access funding for clean energy projects, among other eco-friendly measures approved in Springfield in 2018.

"Senator Stadelman voted 100-percent of the time with the environmental community on nine pieces of key legislation," IEC Executive Director Jen Walling said. "The IEC is honored by Senator Stadelman's dedication to Illinois' evnironment, and we look forward to working together in the future."

Consumers protected from hidden rental car fees under new Stadelman law

After returning a rental car, many Illinois motorists have been surprised to find they were charged additional fees for a tollway collection device similar to an I-PASS. That changes under a new law advanced by State Senator Steve Stadelman to allow drivers to opt out of these devices.

Stadelman said the governor's signature this week on Senate Bill 2522 will increase transparency in the car rental business as the number of cashless tolls continues to grow in Illinois. Under the new law,   companies must make renters aware of their right to decline to use the tollway collection device. If a company fails to offer a customer the ability to opt out, fees are capped at $2 a day that the device is used plus the cost of the tolls. 

“Drivers deserve to know they can opt out of these costly tollway devices instead of being stuck with costly fees when it is already too late,” Stadelman said. 

Passed by the Illinois General Assembly this spring, the law takes effect Jan 1, 2019.

Stadelman law extends the life of prescription drug refills

Doctors can write prescriptions for medicines that are valid for as long as 15 months now that a proposal passed by State Senator Steve Stadelman has been signed into law. Except for controlled substances, prescriptions can be refilled for up to 15 months from the date they are issued, unless the physician issuing the prescription specifies otherwise.

"Patients often see their doctor just once a year but run out of medication prior to their annual visit, necessitating multiple calls to the office and pharmacy for refills that could be handled at the office visit," Stadelman said of Senate Bill 3170, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2019. "A prescription that is valid for 15 months, rather than 12, alleviates the problem."

Governor offers tweaks on Stadelman bill to curb student credit card debt 

A proposal passed by State Senator Steve Stadelman in the General Assembly this spring looks to prevent skyrocketing credit card debt faced by college students. Pending the outcome of recommendations issued this week by the governor, House Bill 4710 would establish the College Student Credit Card Marketing and Debt Task Force to study include how credit cards are marketed to students, students’ payment history and several other related issues. 

While credit cards can be useful for students to purchase school supplies and pay for tuition, students run the risk of running up significant balances that take years to pay down. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, in 2016 41 percent of students graduated with credit card debt averaging $3,000.

“If utilized responsibly, credit cards can be a great tool to build a credit history and pay for school supplies,” Stadelman said. “However, many students are unaware of the potential pitfalls of credit cards and cost themselves dearly in the long run.”

In case you missed me on Facebook...

Steve Stadelman
Lincoln Middle School teacher Mustafa Abdall brought five van- and carloads of ESL students to the Zeke Giorgi Center yesterday as part of his summer Government Appreciation program. The students attend Lincoln, East High School and elementary schools including Maria Montessori, Swan Hillman and Whitehead, and their native languages include ArabiSwahili. They asked about my work as a state lawmaker, and presented posters expressing their gratitude and their thoughts on unity and freedom.

See photos here.

Stadelman proposal to crack down on mugshot websites signed into law

Earlier this spring, State Senator Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) passed Senate Bill 2560 through the Illinois General Assembly to prevent privately owned websites from charging a fee to remove mugshots and other criminal information. Friday, the governor signed the bill into law.

Stadelman proposal to educate students on college debt signed into law

College students would be able to make more informed financial decisions about their education under a measure passed this spring by State Senator Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) and signed into law today. 

Stadelman’s proposal, Senate Bill 2559, creates a three-year pilot program that requires each public university and community college to send an annual letter detailing the current loan and annual repayment amounts to all students with college loans. 

“Thousands of Illinois students graduate from college each year and face the reality that they owe tens-of-thousands of dollars in student loans. For many of these students, it’s the first time they fully realize the expense of their education,” Stadelman said. “This new law will ensure students know up-front about the cost of their education and can make better financial decisions to save them money later on.”

Student loan debt in the United States skyrocketed from $833 billion to an all-time high of $1.4 trillion according to recent students. On average, college students graduate with over $34,000 in debt, up 62 percent in the last decade. 

In 2012, Indiana University began sending new and returning students a letter projecting the amount of debt they were expected to graduate with, along with what their monthly payments would be. After implementing this system, the university saw a decline in the amount of education loans taken out by students. The state of Indiana passed a similar law to cover all state universities and community colleges in 2015. 

Senate Bill 2559 will take effect Jan 1, 2019.