SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Steve Stadelman released the statement below following Gov. Rauner’s visit to Rockford to advocate on behalf of a temporary stop-gap budget:

“Despite his initial opposition to the idea, I am relieved that Gov. Rauner has changed his mind and now supports the stop-gap budget proposed by Illinois Senate Democrats last week. I look forward to working with the governor in a bipartisan manner that keeps state government operating and allows schools to open in August until a permanent resolution is found.

“I’m continuing to work toward an equitable education funding plan that will bring an additional $7 million to $10 million to our schools in Rockford. Failing to change the education funding formula will result in our school districts being forced to slash programs while drastically raising property taxes, a solution Rockford taxpayers cannot afford.

“There is much work to be done. I look forward to continuing to work together to reach a bipartisan solution that protects middle-class families.”

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate passed a resolution Monday to create a task force to study creating a 24-hour nurse hotline, to give sick Illinoisans a second option to consider instead of immediately heading to the doctor.

The resolution was sponsored by State Senator Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) and passed unopposed with a vote of 51-0.

Stadelman was inspired to sponsor the legislation by the state of New Mexico, which created a 24-hour nurse hotline in 2006. As of 2015, nearly 1.5 million residents, or nearly 75 percent of state residents that are of legal age have called the hotline with health questions. Before the hotline was implemented, many of these callers were forced to go to the emergency room for minor medical treatment.

The nearly 15,000 calls the hotline receives every month takes a tremendous toll off of emergency rooms, and saves the state of New Mexico about $41 per call. Over time, these savings have added up – to the tune of about $68 million.

“Creating a 24-hour nurse hotline could be an innovative solution to keeping patients out of emergency rooms and cutting down the state’s medical costs,” Stadelman said. “In this difficult budgetary environment, we need to look at all of the options available to save taxpayers’ money.”

Stadelman’s resolution, Senate Joint Resolution 44, will now head to the Illinois House.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) joined with other Illinois senators from outside the Chicago region today to support Senate Bill 231. The proposal will change the education funding formula to allocate more funding to school districts without access to vast local resources.

Under the legislation, Rockford Public Schools would receive an additional $10.2 million.

Earlier this month, Governor Rauner called on the General Assembly to fully fund the current education formula. Despite the increase in funding, under the curent formula, Rockford Public Schools would only see an increase of about $4.8 million, or less than half of what they will receive under Senate Bill 231.

“Rockford schools are a textbook example of the inherent fairness of the current funding system,” Stadelman said. “Communities with large numbers of low-income students need to invest in education the most, but they are the least equipped to do so.”

UPDATE: Stadelman is a co-sponsor of the legislation. It passed the Illinois Senate with a bipartisan vote of 31-21 following the press conference.

SPRINGFIELD – A proposal backed by State Senator Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) that allocates $90 million to Illinois community colleges, including Rock Valley College, passed the Illinois Senate today with a bipartisan vote of 55-2.

The proposal is Senate Bill 2048. This funding is in addition to the funds appropriated in Senate Bill 2059, which was signed into law by the governor April 25.

“These funds will provide Rock Valley College with additional stability and allow them to prevent further layoffs,” Stadelman said. “These are the types of compromises needed to ensure our state is able to get back on the right track.”

The legislation will now head to the Illinois House.