Rep. Tipsword’s E-Newsletter: Around the District, Veto Session, Education, and More

AROUND THE DISTRICT

State Champions!

Congratulations to the Metamora Grade School Girls Cross Country Team, which claimed the IESA Class 3A state championship last weekend at Maxwell Park in Normal. The Redbirds have now won back-to-back state titles, which is an incredible accomplishment! Rayleigh Reach led the Redbirds in sixth place overall with a time of 12:20 over the two-mile course.

Congratulations, girls! Our entire community is proud of you, and we wish you continued success in the future!

Team results here: IESA Cross-Country

Individual results here: IESA 3A State XC Championships - Results - Cross Country Meet

With help from IVCC, Woodland Community School District 5 will be able to offer students a pathway to earn an associate's degree in high school. Please see the flyer above and access the QR code for more information. You can also click this link: Woodland Associate's Pathway Information

VETO SESSION UPDATE

Democrats play political games rather than focusing on problems facing Illinoisans

The Illinois General Assembly convened last week in Springfield for the first week of its fall veto session. Instead of focusing on the serious problems facing Illinoisans, House Democrats chose to play partisan political games.

House Democrats introduced and passed a series of sham resolutions that attacked the Trump Administration, law enforcement, and Republicans in general. In the meantime, no substantive action was taken on Chicagoland's mass transit fiscal cliff, soaring energy prices, or the high cost of living.

Illinois House Republicans are urging Democrats to reduce political rhetoric and focus on legislative work, following a contentious resolution condemning political violence. The resolution, which passed along party lines with a 74 to 34 vote, included references to recent immigration enforcement actions in Chicago, which Republicans argued were unnecessarily divisive.

Republicans expressed concern that the focus on political rhetoric is detracting from addressing key issues such as taxes, energy, and transit, which they believe are more pressing for Illinois residents. The second and final week of veto session will be held next week from October 28-30 in Springfield.

ENERGY PRICES

Soaring electricity prices hurting Illinois families

The utility bills paid by Illinoisans soared during the summer of 2025. The monthly bad news coincided with the shutdowns of many Illinois coal mines and coal-burning power plants. Electricity is an essential commodity and suppliers licensed to sell electricity in Illinois were compelled to buy peak-load power supplies through a limited number of interstate grids that sold electricity to Illinois from generating plants located outside this state. In late spring 2025, these grid-based power prices helped to push up prices for all Illinoisans.

As prices soared, Illinois electric utilities and suppliers made some vague promises that power customers might enjoy some relief with the cooler days of fall. However, now that fall 2025 is here and many air conditioners have been turned off, power prices remain very high.

EDUCATION

This past summer, the Illinois State Board of Education chose to lower the bar for Illinois students rather than helping them excel in core subjects. We should be raising the standards, not lowering them, for our children. Virginia raises bar for students while Illinois hides struggles

HUNTING

Illinois youth deer hunters set a new record for the season with a preliminary total of 4,714 deer harvested. Illinois youth deer hunters set record harvest | OurQuadCities

IDNR has announced new waterfowl season dates and zone lines for the 2026-2030 seasons. Illinois announces new waterfowl hunting zones and dates for 2026-2030

CORRUPTION

Senate President Don Harmon improperly accepted millions of dollars in campaign contributions and broke state elections laws. He was set to get hit with the largest campaign finance fine in Illinois history and suddenly the State Board of Elections is deadlocked on partisan lines on the issue. It's no wonder we can't get ethics reform passed in Illinois. Elections board deadlocks on $10M fine for Senate President Don Harmon | Capitol News Illinois

GRANTS

Eighty (80) agricultural literacy coalitions in Illinois have been awarded $668,150 in grants to support classroom lessons and activities for the 2025-2026 school year.

The grants, provided by the Illinois Agriculture Association (IAA) Foundation for the Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom (IAITC) program, will benefit 89 counties, including counties within District 105. The funds can be used for materials, training, educational lessons and activities.

Learn more here: Illinois ag literacy grants awarded for 2025-26 school year

SENIORS

Open Enrollment can be a challenge, but IL Department on Aging offers resources

Illinois senior citizens who have enrolled in Medicare are required to re-up their Medicare participation plans during the annual Open Enrollment period. The Open Enrollment Period, which began on October 15, 2025, and extends through December 7, 2025, gives eligible seniors a window of time to compare health offerings and drug plan options and to choose the one that is best for them.

Seniors often have complex prescription plans and significant co-pay requirements. It can be a major effort for seniors to choose the plan that is best for them. The Illinois Department on Aging (IDoA) has posted a fact sheet, with links to databases with needed information. IDoA's Medicare enrollment help centers on the Senior Health Insurance Program (SHIP), a State program that maintains an information website. SHIP partners with local health departments and Area Agencies on Aging to offer face-to-face counseling and advice to enrollees who make appointments for counseling.

A list of local offices that offer SHIP counseling can be found here.

IN MEMORIAM

My wife Betsy and I, along with our entire family, would like to extend our deepest sympathies to Darren and Cindy Bailey during this incredibly difficult time. Please pray for their family and keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they are confronted with the unimaginable loss of their son, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren.