Illinois in Focus

By The Center SquareNews

Illinois in Focus episodes

October 09 Weekend Edition | 600+ ballot misprint, vote pause prompts GOP call to strip clerk of election duties
(The Center Square) – Members of the Illinois Freedom Caucus are sounding the alarm over potential election insecurity issues caused by a federally indicted Central Illinois county clerk.
In Champaign County, Illinois, an area with about 210,000 residents and numerous different races listed on ballots around the jurisdiction, County Clerk Aaron Ammons is facing calls from local and statewide Republicans to step away from overseeing the 2026 midterm election.
What the clerk’s office referred to as a “technical issue” late last week led to a suspension in early voting later Thursday until Monday morning.

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24 min
October 02 Weekend Edition | Stratton talks Trump, filibuster, the far-left as early voting begins
With early voting in Illinois underway in most jurisdictions, Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton – the Democrat hopeful to replace Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., in Congress – sat down with The Center Square to discuss politics, policies and goals for the seat if she wins the race. Stratton, a former state representative, has served as Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s second in command since taking office in 2019. Her opponent is Don Tracy, former chair of the state Republican Party and the Illinois Gaming Board under former Gov. Bruce Rauner. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
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24 min
September 26 Weekend Edition | Illinois Taxpayers Pay Extra for Early Voting
(The Center Square) – Early voting begins in Illinois on Thursday morning, but the state’s 40-day early voting period is accompanied by additional taxpayer costs.
The Center Square asked Rock Island County Clerk Karen Kinney if early voting resulted in additional staffing costs and taxpayer impact.
“Oh yes, it does, because we have to bring in election judges. There are additional employees throughout the election season,” Kinney said.

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24 min
September 18 Weekend Edition | Bill filed to repeal Illinois betting tax
(The Center Square) – New legislation has been filed to repeal an Illinois tax on sports wagering and fantasy contests. State Rep. Travis Weaver, R-Peoria, filed House Bill 5814 on Monday to repeal the tax that Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law last June. Weaver said the tax may be challenged in court. “Anytime a tax is tried for the first time ever, you’ve got to wonder why the other 49 states aren't doing it. It probably has to do with the fact that they think that it's illegal,” Weaver told The Center Square.

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24 min
September 11 Weekend Edition | Pritzker in Texas, calls out Trump 'dementia'
(The Center Square) – A day after launching a new political action committee to support Democratic Party candidates around the country, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker joined Texas Democrats at an event in Dallas on Wednesday.
Pritzker spoke just hours before Republicans opened a two-night convention in Dallas and said the GOP is clinically deranged and out of touch.
“And of course, we have Donald Trump himself, a president suffering from dementia,” Pritzker said. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
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24 min
September 04 Weekend Edition | Local hike on Springfield hotels ups rate to second highest in state
(The Center Square) – A new tax set to be imposed will soon make hotel rooms in Springfield the second-most taxed in the state, behind the city of Chicago. Debate over the new tax saw economic development pit against a burden the tax could place on the local hotel industry. A new 3% hotel tax passed by the Sangamon County Board on Tuesday is planned to fund an expansion of the publicly owned Bank of Springfield Center, which the county hopes to break ground on in the fall of 2027.

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24 min
August 28 Weekend Edition | Illinois officials, elections advocates respond to mail-in voting ruling
(The Center Square) – Following a U.S. Supreme Court decision Monday, Illinois elected officials are urging residents to send any mail-in ballots to be cast in the midterms ahead of election day. The highest court temporarily allowed the Trump administration to maintain an executive order placing restrictions on mail-in voting across the country, requiring the U.S. Postal Service to cross reference Homeland Security lists of legal citizen eligible voters. Ed Yohnka, spokesman for Illinois ACLU, said the ruling was disappointing but would allow the group's case to be ruled on to potentially block the executive order’s rule based on its merits. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
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24 min
August 21 Weekend Edition | Statewide Dems focus on Trump during State Fair event
(The Center Square) – A slate of Democrats running in statewide races appeared at the Illinois State Fair on Wednesday during a campaign event, discussing what they could do to push back against President Donald Trump’s administration during a campaign event.
Retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., appeared alongside the slate of statewide officials and candidates.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul let other politicians, such as Gov. J.B. Pritzker and his running mate, Christian Mitchell, did most of the talking about the state suing the federal government repeatedly over a variety of different policies alongside other Dem AGs. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
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24 min
August 15 Weekend Edition | Illinois taxpayers provide nearly $190 million for state fair
(The Center Square) – The Illinois State Fair is expected to generate about $100 million of economic impact after taxpayers invested nearly $190 million for infrastructure and programming.
The fair is set to run from Thursday morning until Sunday, August 23 at the state fairgrounds in Springfield.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said both the Illinois State Fair and the Du Quoin State Fair are important to the economy.

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24 min
August 07 Weekend Edition | Investigating Committee Waits on U.S. Attorney Before Ammons Fact-Finding Starts
(The Center Square) – An Illinois House of Representatives committee decided it will move forward with an investigation into a number of complaints against a central Illinois lawmaker, but only after the special committee receives input from the U.S. Attorney's Office that brought charges against her. The first hearing of the Special Investigating Committee held at the State Capitol Thursday was largely procedural. Chaired by Assistant Majority Leader Curtis Tarver II, D-Chicago, committee members heard a complaint filed by 11 House Republicans regarding the federal indictment brought against Rep. Carol Ammons for an alleged kickback scheme involving state grant money. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
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24 min

About Illinois in Focus

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The podcast bringing you the most important stories out of Illinois from TheCenterSquare.com. Join us as we dive into the top headlines and provide insightful commentary and analysis.