Senator Stadelman's Weekly Bulletin - July 27, 2018

Stadelman expansion of River Edge Tax Credit signed into law

Legislation expanding an economic development tool known as the River Edge Tax Credit was signed into law by the governor today. The proposal, Senate Bill 3527, was passed through the General Assembly by State Senator Steve Stadelman earlier this spring. While the tax credit was previously available in downtown Rockford, Aurora, Peoria, Elgin and East St. Louis, the new law expands it across the entire state.

“This tax credit has been a vital tool to spur the economic growth of downtown Rockford,” Stadelman said. “I’m excited about the possibilities that await our state by expanding this credit statewide.”
The credit is equal to 25 percent of the rehabilitation costs for a business in a historic building, with a limit of $15 million total per year that will be administered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources on a first-come first-serve basis. The program will expire at the end of 2023.  
In Rockford, it has been used to incentivize projects like the $12 million renovation at the Prairie Street Brewhouse. Now that it has been signed, Senate Bill 3527 is effective immediately.

Roll-out of automatic voter signup under way

State officials continue to fine tune the roll-out of automatic voter registratio n in Illinois, an initiative advanced by Senate Democrats with bipartisan support. Under the newest phase of the law’s implementation, which began July 1, those who contact a state driver services facility will be notified of their current voter registration status and asked whether they would like to update their information. Illinois must implement standards laid out by the federal Real ID law before AVR can be finalized, a process Secretary of State Jesse White has said will be complete in October.

Learn more about automatic voter registration.

In case you missed me on Facebook ...

 
Steve Stadelman
July 17 at 11:25 AM ·
Honored to present an Illinois Senate Recognition to the Rockford and Vicinity Baptist District Association! It's 40th Annual Session is taking place this week. Congratulations!

Stadelman expansion of River Edge Tax Credit signed into law

SPRINGFIELD – Legislation expanding an economic development tool known as the River Edge Tax Credit was signed into law by the governor today. The proposal, Senate Bill 3527, was passed through the General Assembly by State Senator Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) earlier this spring.

While the tax credit was previously available in downtown Rockford, Aurora, Peoria, Elgin and East St. Louis, the new law will expand it across the entire state.

“This tax credit has been a vital tool to spur the economic growth of downtown Rockford,” Stadelman said. “I’m excited about the possibilities that await our state by expanding this credit statewide.”

The credit is equal to 25 percent of the rehabilitation costs for a business in a historic building, with a limit of $15 million total per year that will be administered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources on a first-come first-serve basis. The program will expire at the end of 2023.
 
In Rockford, it has been used to incentivize projects like the $12 million renovation at the Prairie Street Brewhouse.

Now that it has been signed, Senate Bill 3527 will be effective immediately.

Funding for Rock Valley College renovation released

Funding for Rock Valley College renovation released

State Senator Steve Stadelman announced the release this month of $9.2 million for the construction of Classroom Building 1 at Rock Valley College. The release of funds by the Illinois Comptroller's Office reimburses RVC for the state's contribution toward remodeling of the classrooms, which began in 2015 but was stopped due to the budget stalemate. In 2016, the college restarted construction using its own finances.

“The two-year budget impasse negatively impacted every community in our state by delaying payments for vital services and halting money for important capital projects, like this one at Rock Valley College,” Stadelman said. “I’m pleased the state is finally keeping its commitment to Rock Valley College as it continues to improve the learning environment for students and staff in the Rockford community.”

Renovation of the 61,000-square-foot structure included upgrading plumbing, lighting and electrical work and building a two-story, 21,000-square-foot addition.

New fiscal year brings new state laws

July brings the beginning of a new fiscal year for the state, and several measures passed by the legislature and signed into law take effect on July 1. The most notably of the new laws, which was supported by State Senator Steve Stadelman, addresses Illinois' teacher shortage.
Rural and downstate school districts will have more tools to help overcome the challenges of a statewide teacher shortage under the that is based on input from Illinois educators. Among other things, the measure slashes red tape to encourage educators outside of Illinois to apply for hard-to-fill jobs here, creates a short-term substitute teaching license and allows downstate retired teachers to substitute in classrooms without jeopardizing their retirement benefits.

Other laws effective July 1 - click on each bill number to read more:

SB 312 Requires any entity selling "catfish" products to disclose on the packaging, menu or wherever applicable the fish's country of origin. The concern is food establishments offering swai fish (Pangasiidae family) as catfish (Ictaluridae family) without informing customers.
SB 1223 Requires school districts to have an accelerated placement policy that allows students to be referred and evaluated for possible early entrance to kindergarten or 1st grade, acceleration in a single subject, compacted curriculum, grade acceleration, grade telescoping or early high school graduation.
HB 303 Reforms the civil asset forfeiture process; places the burden of proof in forfeiture cases on the prosecution, instead of the property owner.
HB 2453 Requires the Department of Revenue to transfer funds directly from sales taxes into the Downstate Public Transportation Fund instead of first being deposited by the Comptroller into the General Revenue Fund.  
HB 2963 Creates the Entity Omnibus Act, which takes the conversion and domestication processes out of various acts affecting business entities.

Funding for Rock Valley College renovation released

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) announced today that the Comptroller’s office is releasing the $9.2 million reimbursement grant for the construction of Classroom Building 1 at Rock Valley College.

In 2015, rehabilitation work on the classrooms was halted due to the budget stalemate. In 2016, Rock Valley College opted to restart the construction and pay for it with their own finances. The grant reimburses Rock Valley College for the cost of the completed work.

“The two-year budget impasse negatively impacted every community in our state by delaying payments for vital services and halting money for important capital projects, like this one at Rock Valley College,” Stadelman said. “I’m pleased the state is finally keeping its commitment to Rock Valley College as it continues to improve the learning environment for students and staff in the Rockford community.”

The renovation work included renovating approximately 61,000 square feet in classroom building 1, including upgrading plumbing, lighting and electrical work. It also includes funding for an approximately two-story 21,000 square foot addition.

The Comptroller’s office is expected to release the funds later today.

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