Illinois election: Steve Stadelman defeats Juan Reyes for state Senate District 34

Democratic State Sen. Steve Stadelman has won a fourth term after defeating Republican Rockford native Juan Reyes in Illinois Senate District 34.

Stadelman, 61, is a former TV news anchor first elected to the state senate representing the Rockford region in 2012. He supported legislation that expanded gaming in Illinois and gave Rockford a casino license, a bill that incentivizes the growth of the electric vehicle and battery manufacturing industry in Illinois and secured $275 million to restore passenger rail service in Rockford.

Stadelman easily defended his seat in the Illinois Senate, collecting more than 58% of 48,612 ballots cast in Winnebago and Boone counties, including Rockford, according to unofficial election results Tuesday night.

Reyes, 50, had criticized Stadelman by saying that he had "skipped the vote" on the controversial SAFE-T Act, the criminal justice reform bill that made body cameras mandatory for police, standardizes use-of-force training and seeks to end the cash bail system in Illinois.

2022 Illinois election results:All the midterm election results in one spot

Stadelman said he declined to vote one way or another as his way of saying that improvements were needed to the criminal justice reform legislation.

Stadelman will serve a two-year term in 34th Senate District and earn a salary of $70,645 a year. The Loves Park resident is married with four children.

A Rockford Register Star reporter since 2005, Jeff Kolkey writes about city government, politics, trends in the Rockford region and more. He is a Rockford resident, a married father of two and a White Sox fan. He can be reached at (815) 987-1374, via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on Twitter @jeffkolkey.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Illinois state senate district 34 Steve Stadelman, Juan Reyes