State begins mailing sticker renewal notices again

Starting this month, Illinois vehicle owners will start receiving notices that stickers on their licenses plates are about to expire, a courtesy that ended almost a year ago to save money.

Secretary of State Jesse White announced this week that recent approval of a stopgap budget gave his office additional funding for postage. Discontinuation of the renewal notices saved an estimated $450,000 monthly since October 2015.

Fees for late renewal doubled to $11 million for the first six months of 2016 over the first half of 2015; the revenue went into the state's general fund, not White's office.

New laws protect access to health care, especially for women

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Two Stadelman measures, both proposed by Rockford residents, become law

Legislation that will require law enforcement officials to accept cash to post bail was signed into law last week by the governor. Senate Bill 2252 was sponsored by State Sen. Steve Stadelman after learning what happened when Rockford-area resident Kevin Lunsford's minor son was arrested for a traffic offense last year. When Lunsford arrived at the Winnebago County Juvenile Center to bail out his son, the credit card machine was broken and the county has a policy to refuse cash.

Because of a technology malfunction, Lunsford’s son was forced to sit in the juvenile center the entire weekend – significantly longer than the law requires and at taxpayer expense.

“With this common-sense new law, we have ensured that nobody will have to stay in custody longer because of a technology malfunction or a refusal to take cash,” Stadelman said. “I would like to thank Kevin for contacting me about this issue, and I look forward to sponsoring legislation in the future that is brought to me by my constituents.”

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Stadelman bill could help low-income parents obtain GEDs

Senator Steve Stadelman passed in committee last week a bill that would count GED studies as a way for low-income parents to meet requirements for obtaining financial assistance from the state.

The legislation is expected to move to the full Illinois Senate for a vote this week.

Currently, the state's TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) benefits are awarded to low-income parents who work, participate in job training or other "core activities." Senate Bill 2906 would expand the range of acceptable core activities to include pursuit of a General Equivalency Diploma.

"We have roughly 45,000 adults in the Rockford area who have not complete high school, and that education gap makes us less competitive economically as a community," Stadelman said. "Right now, we're basically telling people that education is not important. But we're all better off if we have a highly skilled workforce."

• WREX -Channel 13 News Report

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