Rockford Sun

Steve Stadelman introduced SB2014 in the Illinois Senate on Feb. 6, 2025, during the general assembly session 104, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill's official text as follows: "Creates the Gift Card Scam Prevention Act. Provides that a merchant shall not knowingly sell an open-loop gift card to a consumer unless the merchant satisfies specified requirements. Provides that a third-party gift card reseller that buys or sells an open-loop gift card as part of a transaction occurring in the State shall record and maintain a copy of specified information. Provides for enforcement of the Act by the Attorney General. Effective January 1, 2026."

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, the bill, named the Gift Card Scam Prevention Act, sets guidelines and requirements for selling open-loop gift cards in Illinois, effective Jan. 1, 2026. Merchants are prohibited from knowingly selling these cards unless they meet specific criteria, including displaying clear notices and ensuring secure packaging for in-person sales. Exceptions exist for chip-enabled, numberless cards and gift cards sold for specific retail establishments. Third-party resellers of open-loop gift cards must maintain detailed transaction records for three years and allow law enforcement access during business hours. The Attorney General is tasked with compiling and disseminating information on gift card scams and issuing public guidelines. Violations of the act may result in civil penalties of up to $5,000, with collected fines directed to the Debt Settlement Consumer Protection Fund. The Attorney General is also responsible for enforcing the act and establishing necessary rules.

Steve Stadelman has proposed another 14 bills since the beginning of the 104th session.

Stadelman graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a BA.

Steve Stadelman is currently serving in the Illinois State Senate, representing the state's 34th Senate District. He replaced previous state senator Dave Syverson in 2013.

Bills in Illinois follow a multi-step legislative process, beginning with introduction in either the House or Senate, followed by committee review, floor debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching the governor for approval or veto. The General Assembly operates on a biennial schedule, and while typically thousands of bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully pass through the process to become law.

You can read more about bills and other measures here.

Bill Number	Date Introduced	Short Description
SB2014	02/06/2025	Creates the Gift Card Scam Prevention Act. Provides that a merchant shall not knowingly sell an open-loop gift card to a consumer unless the merchant satisfies specified requirements. Provides that a third-party gift card reseller that buys or sells an open-loop gift card as part of a transaction occurring in the State shall record and maintain a copy of specified information. Provides for enforcement of the Act by the Attorney General. Effective January 1, 2026.
SB1882	02/06/2025	Creates the Criminal Justice Special Advocates Program for People with Disabilities Act. Provides that subject to appropriation for this purpose, the Department of Human Services shall establish a 3-year, 5-county pilot program to provide a minimum of one criminal justice special advocate in each selected county to serve the advocacy and support needs of an individual with an intellectual disability or a developmental disability involved in the criminal justice system of the county. Contains provisions concerning the selection of counties; the qualifications and duties of criminal justice special advocates; and Department evaluation and reporting requirements.
SB1883	02/06/2025	Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that no person shall affix tape to any registration plate, temporary registration plate, digital registration plate, registration sticker, or other evidence of registration issued by the Secretary of State. Makes a conforming change. Provides that it is unlawful to operate any vehicle that is equipped with a manual, electronic, or mechanical device that hides or obscures a registration plate.
SB1884	02/06/2025	Amends the Personnel Code. Provides that a State agency shall not require as a condition of eligibility for hire to a position in State employment that an applicant have a baccalaureate degree. Provides that the provisions shall not apply the knowledge, skills, or abilities required for the position for which an applicant is applying can only reasonably be obtained, as determined by the appointing authority, through a course of study in pursuit of, and culminating in the award of, a baccalaureate degree or advanced degree. Effective immediately.
SB1901	02/06/2025	Appropriates $575,000,000 to the Department of Transportation for expenses related to the Statewide Railway Program. Effective July 1, 2025.
SB2012	02/06/2025	If and only if Senate Bill 867 of the 103rd General Assembly becomes law, amends the State Parks Act. Provides that the land management agreement with the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation and other necessary parties for the purpose of managing, maintaining, or operating the real property conveyed to the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation shall contain restrictions on gaming operations. Effective immediately or on the date Senate Bill 867 of the 103rd General Assembly becomes law, whichever is later.
SB2013	02/06/2025	Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Provides that it is an unlawful practice for any third-party hotel booking service to facilitate the reservation or booking of a physical accommodation in the State without providing specified disclosures to the consumer. Sets forth requirements for the disclosure, including that it is clear and conspicuous. Defines terms. Effective January 1, 2026.
SB2015	02/06/2025	Amends the Ticket Sale and Resale Act. Provides that a person or entity that does not have actual or constructive possession of an event ticket shall not sell, offer for sale, or advertise for sale the event ticket unless specified conditions are satisfied. Prohibits a ticket issuer, ticket broker, or ticket reseller from offering for sale an event ticket unless the ticket issuer, ticket broker, or ticket reseller makes specified disclosures. Sets forth provisions concerning refunds, if an event is cancelled or postponed, and advertisements. Provides that whoever violates the amendatory provisions may be fined up to $5,000 for each offense. Defines terms.
SB2072	02/06/2025	Amends the Illinois Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Provides that the Department of Agriculture, in consultation with the Department of Public Health, shall, on or before July 1, 2027, adopt rules requiring food product labels to contain information regarding the quality date of a product and the safety date of a product. Provides for exceptions for eggs, beer and other malt beverages, and as limited by federal law. Provides for a civil penalty of $100.
SB1730	02/05/2025	Creates the Music Incubator Rebate Act. Provides that the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall administer a music incubator rebate program under which the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall provide to the operators of eligible music venues and to eligible music festival promoters a full or partial rebate of the retailers' occupation taxes paid by those operators or eligible music festival promoters on the sale of beer and wine on the premises of the eligible music venue or at the location of the qualified music festival as part of the qualified music festival. Provides that moneys shall be paid from the Music Incubator Fund. Contains provisions creating the Music Incubator Fund. Amends the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois and the State Finance Act to make conforming changes. Effective immediately.
SB1731	02/05/2025	Amends the Counties Code. Provides that a county board may, by ordinance, establish standards for noise pollution in the unincorporated areas of the county. Effective immediately.
SB1732	02/05/2025	Creates the Journalism Preservation Act. Provides that specified online platforms shall track and record, on a monthly basis, the total number of times the online platform's websites link to, display, or present a digital journalism provider's news articles, works of journalism, or other content that are displayed or presented to Illinois residents and remit a journalism usage fee payment to each digital journalism provider who has satisfied specific requirements. Sets forth provisions concerning notice requirements; fee payments; calculation of fees; arbitration; non-retaliation; funding for journalists and support staff; reporting requirements; preservation of rights; and severability.
SB1551	02/04/2025	Amends the Adult Protective Services Act. Expands the list of mandated reporters under the Act to include a broker-dealer and any qualified individual who serves in a supervisory, compliance, or legal capacity for a broker-dealer or investment advisor. Permits a broker-dealer or investment advisor to delay a disbursement from an account of an eligible adult or an account on which an eligible adult is a beneficiary in cases of suspected financial exploitation. Sets forth certain actions a broker-dealer or investment advisor must take, including notifying the Department on Aging, of the requested disbursement and suspected financial exploitation. Contains provisions setting forth conditions upon which a delay of a disbursement shall expire; immunity for delaying disbursements; and financial records access. Makes conforming changes throughout the Act. Expands the definition of "financial exploitation" to include (1) the wrongful or unauthorized taking, withholding, appropriation, or use of money, assets, or property of an eligible adult; or (2) any act or omission taken by a person, including through the use of a power of attorney, guardianship, or conservatorship of an eligible adult, to: (A) obtain control over the eligible adult's money, assets, or property; or (B) convert money, assets, or property of the eligible adult to deprive such eligible adult of the ownership, use, benefit, or possession of his or her money, assets, or property.
SB0265	01/24/2025	Amends the Local Records Act. Provides that a law enforcement agency that encrypts police scanner transmissions must provide, by license or otherwise, real-time access to those transmissions to broadcast stations, broadcasting stations, radio broadcast stations, and newspapers. Effective January 1, 2026.
SB1181	01/24/2025	Creates the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act. Applies the Act to a civil cause of action, including an action in federal court under its supplemental or diversity jurisdiction, against a person based on the person's: (i) communication in a legislative, executive, judicial, administrative, or other governmental proceeding; (ii) communication on an issue under consideration or review in any of these proceedings; or (iii) exercise of a right guaranteed by the United States Constitution or the Illinois Constitution on a matter of public concern. Provides that the Act does not apply to a cause of action asserted: (i) against a governmental unit or an employee or agent of a governmental unit acting or purporting to act in an official capacity; (ii) by a governmental unit or an employee or agent of a governmental unit acting in an official capacity to enforce a law to protect against an imminent threat to public health or safety; or (iii) against a person primarily engaged in the business of selling or leasing goods or services if the cause of action arises out of a communication related to the person's sale or lease of the goods or services. Creates a procedure for a special motion for expedited relief for a party being sued for issues covered by the Act to dismiss or strike the action in whole or in part within 60 days of being sued. Requires the court to rule on a special motion for expedited relief within 60 days after a hearing, and the court must conduct a hearing not later than 60 days after the filing of such a motion unless it continues it for discovery under the Act or for other good cause. Makes other changes. Makes a conforming change in the Citizen Participation Act. Effective immediately.
SB0213	01/22/2025	Amends the Strengthening Community Media Act. Provides that, for the fiscal year following the effective date of the amendatory Act, and each fiscal year thereafter, a State agency shall direct at least 5% of its total spending on advertising to local news organization publications, provided that a State agency may seek an exemption from this requirement upon a showing to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity that the purposes of the advertising are inconsistent with placement in a local news organization. Provides that the Department shall maintain a list of eligible local news organizations. Provides that all State agencies are prohibited from discriminating among local news organizations based on editorial content, unless that content is objectively relevant to the target audience and articulated purposes of the advertising. Provides that, no later than 3 months after the effective date of the amendatory Act, the Department shall publish on its website a report on the implementation of the Act. Provides that, for the first full fiscal year following the effective date of the amendatory Act, and each fiscal year thereafter, the Department shall publish an annual report that includes specified information. Defines "State agencies".
SB0150	01/17/2025	Amends the Election Code. Provides that, if a person, committee, or other entity creates, originally publishes, or originally distributes a qualified political advertisement, the qualified political advertisement shall include, in a clear and conspicuous manner, a statement that the qualified political advertisement was generated in whole or substantially by artificial intelligence that satisfies specified requirements. Provides for civil penalties and exceptions to the provision.