WATCH: HHS tells Pritzker ‘show receipts’ on welfare spending; Energy bill to be signed
January 8, 2026/
(The Center Square) – In today’s edition of Illinois in Focus Daily, The Center Square Editor Greg Bishop shares conversations about fighting welfare fraud with Truth In Accounting founder and CEO Sheila Weinberg and HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill and how Illinois could be impacted and how the state can rectify a funding freeze.
Bishop also revisits debate over energy legislation Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is expected to sign Thursday in Joliet. Supporters of Senate Bill 25 say it will help keep down rates with a continued focus on renewable energy. Opponents say they’ve heard that before with previous energy policies Illinois approved that they say has only led to higher utility rates.
Subscribe to Illinois in Focus Daily with The Center Square on YouTube. You can also subscribe to the Illinois in Focus podcast to get the entire show uninterrupted.
Today Jun 13
72° 51°
Partly Sunny
Latest News Stories
ELECTION DAY 2025: NYC elects Mamdani, Democrats sweep VA, NJ governors’ races
By Dan McCalebThe Center Square Self-proclaimed democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani will be the next mayor of New York City after taking down the former Democrat New York governor for a...
Madison clerk to use coroner’s death records to fix voter rolls
By Jonathan Bilyk | Legal NewslineThe Center Square Madison County will now use reports of deaths from the county coroner to more quickly and efficiently remove those who have died...
Trump plans breakfast meeting with all GOP senators
By Sarah Roderick-FitchThe Center Square President Donald Trump has invited every Republican U.S. senator to breakfast at the White House on Wednesday morning, following the president's urging of the senators...
Teacher unions sue to protect student loan forgiveness
By Esther WickhamThe Center Square A coalition of teacher unions and nonprofits sued the U.S. Department of Education this week over its new rule limiting Public Service Loan Forgiveness for...
WATCH: Trump confident ahead of tariff challenge with other tariffs as Plan B
By Brett RowlandThe Center Square President Donald Trump insisted Tuesday that he needs a tool that no other president has used to save the nation from disaster. The comments came...
Illinois quick hits: Raoul touts grand funding injunction; trooper’s vehicle struck
By The Center SquareThe Center Square Raoul touts grand funding injunction Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is touting a permanent injunction from a Rhode Island federal district judge against the...
Report: Colorado gains millennials, loses older residents
By Elyse ApelThe Center Square Colorado saw nearly 450,000 moves over the past year, but more residents left the state than arrived. In total, Colorado saw a net population loss...
Workers report benefits of mail scanning at Illinois prisons as state faces rules deadline
By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – As Illinois prison workers testify about the benefits of electronic mail scanning, Illinois Department of Corrections officials...
Govt shutdown crippling U.S. airports; thousands of flights delayed, cancelled
By Thérèse BoudreauxThe Center Square Americans traveling by plane are facing thousands of flight delays and hundreds of cancellations each day due to the ongoing government shutdown – and the...
WATCH: Former DOJ’s seizure of Trump phone records an ‘egregious overreach’
By Morgan SweeneyThe Center Square U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on X Tuesday that the FBI’s investigation into whether President Donald Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election included...
Bessent to attend Supreme Court hearing in tariff challenge
By Brett RowlandThe Center Square U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent plans to attend oral arguments Wednesday in a case challenging President Donald Trump's authority to use tariffs without Congressional approval....
ELECTION DAY 2025: Virginia, NJ governor, NYC mayor, more at stake
By Dan McCaleb and Andrew RiceThe Center Square Voters in several states and cities across the U.S. will decide key races for governor, mayor and other positions Tuesday as voting...
WATCH: Illinois House rejects home insurance bill GOP says would raise rates
By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Illinois Republicans say a state Senate proposal to regulate homeowners insurance rates failed to address the reasons...
