Illinois in Focus

By The Center SquareNews

Illinois in Focus episodes

January 22 Illinois in Focus Daily | January 22nd, 2026 - House passes resolutions condemning ICE, tariffs
Greg Bishop, Illinois editor for The Center Square, hosts Illinois In Focus Daily, a review of some of the top Illinois headlines with timely and relevant news and interviews.

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13 min
January 21 Illinois in Focus Daily | January 21th, 2026 - Pritzker says Trump’s first year a 'failure,' calls ICE 'secret police'
Greg Bishop discusses some of the highlights President Donald Trump provided from his first year in office of his second non-consecutive term. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Trump's first year has been a "failure," while Republicans in Illinois say Pritzker's policy are not making the state safe or affordable.

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31 min
January 17 Weekend Edition | GOP senator wants budget transparency; Dems describe open process
(The Center Square) – As Illinois state senators return to Springfield, Democrats and Republicans disagree over the level of transparency in the state’s budget process. The state Senate’s first meeting of 2026 is scheduled Tuesday afternoon at the Illinois Capitol. A reporter asked Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, about lawmakers routinely passing the state budget in the middle of the night with line items stuffed into a shell bill. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
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24 min
January 16 Illinois in Focus Daily | January 16th, 2026 - Ives investigates tax Illinois dollars for NGOs
Greg Bishop talks live with Jeanne Ives from Breakthrough Ideas about her investigations into state spending on non-government organizations, how to shore up the state's budget and more.

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22 min
January 15 Illinois in Focus Daily | January 15th, 2026 - Tax increase talk at the Illinois Statehouse
Greg Bishop discusses the status of Illinois' budget, and shares comments from Gov. J.B. Pritzker about the impacts to state spending if federal taxpayer funds are frozen. Legislators discuss the prospect of tax increases with a proposal being floated to have a surcharge on millionaires.

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26 min
January 13 Illinois in Focus Daily | January 13th, 2026 - Migrant sanctuary Illinois sues Trump admin over immigration enforcement tactics
Greg Bishop discusses the latest lawsuit Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed against the Trump administration over public safety around immigration enforcement.

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30 min
January 12 Illinois in Focus Daily | January 12th, 2026 - With adverse audit opinions, Illinois sues Trump admin over frozen welfare funds
Greg Bishop shares recent comments from Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul about a lawsuit he's joining with other states like New York and California challenging the Trump administration's freezing of federal taxpayer funds for certain welfare programs.

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31 min
January 10 Weekend Edition | Report: More people continue leaving Illinois than arriving
(The Center Square) – Illinois state Rep. Martin McLaughlin argues lawmakers in Springfield only look in the mirror to come face to face with the source of the state’s dwindling appeal. A new Atlas Van Lines report details how Illinois’ outbound migration levels in 2025 again topped the number of new move-ins to the state, marking the 17th straight year that trend has festered. While this year’s ratio reflects the smallest gap between new move-ins and those leaving the state since 2008, staffers nonetheless found 54% of the company’s clients last year were on the move out of Illinois.

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24 min
January 08 Illinois in Focus Daily | January 8th, 2026 - HHS suspects 'political patronage' with welfare spending, Illinois a suspected 'hotspot'
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.
Read more: https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_64464fdd-b310-4260-aefb-5e0c8bfbed6f.html

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36 min
January 07 Illinois in Focus Daily | January 7th, 2026 - IL gubernatorial candidate calls for audit as child care funding freeze announced
Bishop delves into the news that the Trump administration is freezing $10 billion in federal funds to five different states including approximately $1 billion to Illinois as concerns continue about potential fraud in the welfare system stemming from findings in Minnesota.

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47 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.