Rauner's inaction jeopardizing Rosecrance triage: Stadelman

State Senator Steve Stadelman last week called for public pressure on Governor Bruce Rauner for refusing to fund the Rosecrance Mulberry Center, which provides medical triage for people with mental illnesses. Stadelman focused on the Rauner administration after Rosecrance announced that further delays in state funding would cause Rosecrance to close its triage program.  

"It's a good facility, a good program, it saves the state and community money, and it needs to continue," Stadelman said. "The state needs to keep its funding commitment to this facility."

Stadelman said funding for the triage center was included in the stopgap budget approved in June, but Rauner has chosen not to release the money. In fiscal years 2013, 2014 and 2015, following the closure of Singer Mental Health Center, previous administrations used Eligibility and Disposition Assessment grant money to pay for triage, according to Stadelman.

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HoopStars adds shoe drive to tourney

ROCKFORD – State Senator Steve Stadelman is expanding his popular Labor Day basketball tournament to include a drive to collect gently used athletic shoes for needy young sports enthusiasts.

Now in its fourth year, the free 3-on-3 competition also is adding two more courts to accommodate an anticipated increase in players over the 400 who participated in 2015. Boys and girls in 3rd through 8th grades will face off on 10 courts in Davis Park during Senator Stadelman’s HoopStars 2016.

Registration is open until Aug. 31 at www.senatorstadelman.com/hoopstars.

Stadelman announced at a Sunday news conference that HoopStars has teamed up with Sole Ballers to supply “legit kicks” to kids from low-income families. Christian Life High School sophomore Treye Tucker has collected and distributed 500 pairs of athletic shoes since he founded Sole Ballers as a 7th-grader.

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Stadelman unrelenting: Voter access must be a priority for Illinois

State Senator Steve Stadelman pledged to continue pressing for measures to make registration easier for eligible Illinois voters, despite the governor’s move to block the latest efforts. A measure he co-sponsored to bring automatic voter registration to Illinois garnered bipartisan support in both houses of the legislature in the spring.

That bill followed Senate Democrats’ earlier successful efforts to make voting more accessible and convenient through early voting, same-day and online voter registration and vote-by-mail. “I'm curious," Stadelman said, "why the governor would oppose cutting government waste and red tape, which is exactly what automatic voter registration would do."

Homeless students take GED exams free under new law

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Stadelman bill encouraging parents on government assistance

to further their education becomes law

Legislation advanced by State Sen. Steve Stadelman to allow recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF) to count high school and high school equivalency courses as part of the state's requirements to receive benefits was signed into law last week by the governor. Previously, recipients of TANF had to work or participate in job-training programs for 20 hours a week, but high school equivalency classes didn't count toward the core hours needed.

“This is a bipartisan solution that will help parents complete high school, obtain their equivalency degrees and improve their circumstances through education,” Stadelman said. “Finishing high school or receiving a GED is a critical step in gaining employment and being self-sufficient.”

In the Rockford area, about 45,000 adults have not completed high school. TANF provides temporary financial assistance to help pregnant women and families pay for food, shelter, utilities and other non-medical expenses. Senate Bill 2906 is effective Jan. 1, 2017.

Governor green-lights Democrat plan to update pension rolls, cut waste

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