News

ROCK ISLAND – State Senator Mike Halpin has secured a total $350,000 for projects in Macomb and Bushnell as a part of the Illinois’ Safe Routes to School Program.

“Safety is a parent’s number one concern when it comes to their children,” said Halpin (D-Rock Island). “We advocated for these investments to make sure students in Western Illinois have a safe way to get to school.”

The $250,000 investment to benefit Bushnell-Prairie City Elementary will bring new construction and replacement of unsafe areas of existing sidewalk and installation of ADA compliant ramps at all necessary intersections. A $100,000 investment in Macomb is being implemented to develop a community travel plan. A community travel plan is a strategic blueprint to map out specific ways to improve pedestrian and bicycle travel to and from school. Several schools in Macomb will be involved in the planning including Macomb SD 185, West Central Illinois Special Education, St. Paul Catholic and Project Insight School

SPRINGFIELD – In the face of higher student debt for many in Illinois and across the country, State Senator Mike Halpin’s measure to keep track of the private student loan borrowing market has passed the Senate.

“With the Trump administration placing caps on federal lending for student borrowers, we need to keep track of where the Illinois student loan market is at,” said Halpin (D-Rock Island). “Monitoring student loan default rates and loans with cosigners will give us a clearer picture of how students are doing with their debt and what actions Illinois can make to assist them.”

Halpin’s measure would provide that the annual report to the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation should include the total number and dollar amount – instead of the volume – of private education loans made annually by a private educational lender. It should also include the total number and dollar amount of private education loans made annually at institutions of higher education, the total number and dollar amount of private education loans made annually with a cosigner, and the default rate for the private education loans reported by the private educational lender.

SPRINGFIELD – Thanks to a law sponsored by State Senator Mike Halpin, nearly $400,000 in back wages for workers have been secured.

“Skipping out on paying hard working Illinoisans for the wages they earned is completely unacceptable,” said Halpin (D-Rock Island). “I am glad to see this legislation paying back dividends, but we have to remain vigilant and ensure our workers are being compensated in a timely and fair manner.”

The secured back wages are, in part, a result of Senator Halpin’s Senate Bill 1344 passed last year. This law provides that any contractor or subcontractor, who the Department of Labor finds has failed to file the certified payroll for any public works project, is subject to a civil penalty. The fine would be payable to the Department of Labor, of up to $1,000 for a first offense and up to $2,000 for a second or subsequent offense no more than five years after the first offense.

The legislation allows the Illinois Department of Labor to file a verified petition against the contractor or subcontractor to enforce the final administrative decision and to collect any amounts due in the circuit court of any county where an office of IDOL is located.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Mike Halpin’s bill to keep streaming advertisements the same volume as the stream has passed the Senate.

“Families shouldn’t be subjected to unnecessarily loud commercials when they are trying to enjoy their favorite show,” said Halpin (D-Rock Island). “This bill brings a commonsense change that protects consumers in Illinois.”

Senate Bill 3222 would provide that commercials accompanying video streaming services cannot have a volume greater than that of the underlying programing.

Several states have already regulated streaming commercial volume. The Federal Communications Commission regulates TV commercials but not streaming under the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act (CALM). In 2023 Congress attempted to expand CALM to streaming services but did not advance

“Whether you are a parent with a young child, a blue collar worker with tinnitus or a person with hearing aids, folks should not be bothered by overly loud commercials, especially when they are trying to sleep,” said Halpin.

Senate Bill 3222 passed the Senate and heads to the House for further consideration.