Senator Steve Stadelman Contact information

Steve Stadelman, born on October 30, 1960, is an American politician and former television journalist. He has been a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate since 2013, representing the 34th district. The district is based in Winnebago County and includes all or part of the municipalities of Rockford, Machesney Park, Loves Park, and Cherry Valley.

Stadelman is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied journalism. He was a TV reporter and anchor in the Rockford area for two decades. His experiences as a journalist and parent convinced him of the need for fresh, no-nonsense representation in Springfield. Citizens in the Rockford-based 34th District elected him with 64 percent of the vote in 2012.

In the Illinois General Assembly, Stadelman’s associated representatives are Democrat Maurice West in State House District 67 and Republican John Cabello in State House District 68. As of July 2022, Senator Stadelman is a member of the following Illinois Senate committees: Appropriations - General Services Committee, Appropriations - Emergency Management Committee, Commerce Committee, Credits, Deduction, and Exemptions Committee, Higher Education Committee (Chairman of), Local Government Committee (Chairman of), Redistricting - Northern Illinois Committee, Revenue Committee (Chairman of), Revenue - Special Issues Committee, Tourism and Hospitality Committee, and Transportation Committee.

Stadelman was endorsed by former Rockford Board of Education President Nancy Kalchbrenner and former mayors Charles Box and Doug Scott. He defeated Winnebago County Board Member Frank Gambino to become senator for the new 34th district.

In 2018, Stadelman was named Legislator of the Year for his work on the statewide expansion of the Rivers Edge tax credit for redevelopment of historic properties like the Prairie Street Brewhouse and Amerock Embassy Suites hotel in downtown Rockford. Senator Stadelman previously had been awarded Legislator of the Year by the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

In 2019, Senator Stadelman prevailed on two key economic initiatives that had been stalled for years: He co-sponsored and helped pass legislation to allow a casino in Rockford, and he secured $275 million toward development of passenger rail between Chicago and Rockford. Senator Stadelman was instrumental in obtaining funding to restore service in 2014 but saw the effort blocked during a subsequent Republican administration.

Before entering public office, Senator Stadelman worked for 25 years as a television news anchor and reporter for WTVO-Channel 17, where he developed a broad understanding of government and issues facing the Rockford area and state of Illinois. Senator Stadelman holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He grew up on a small dairy farm in southern Wisconsin and was a three-sport athlete at Brodhead High School.

Senator Stadelman and his wife, Patty, have four children who all have attended Rockford Public Schools. The oldest is now studying at the University of Illinois-Champaign, and the other three are enrolled at Guilford High School. Although Senator Stadelman remains familiar to citizens in the 34th District as a former newscaster, he is also well known for coaching his children’s many sports teams. For many years, Senator Stadelman was active with the Sara Ingrassia-Jackie Confer Dictionary Fund, which provided free dictionaries to all 3rd-grade students in the Rockford school system.