August 22, 2025/
WATCH: IL child welfare interns debate heats up; state financial audit released
(The Center Square) – In today’s edition of Illinois in Focus Daily, The Center Square Editor Greg Bishop talks live with state Rep. Jed Davis about his continued concerns about the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services’ use of interns. He says he’s seeking legislative solutions but worries the issue could get buried heading into an election year.
Bishop also shares reaction to the state of Illinois’ fiscal year 2023 audit being released more than two years after the fiscal year concluded. Comptroller Susana Mendoza says future audits will be released quicker. Truth in Accounting’s Sheila Weinberg reacts.
Watch the full program below. 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.
⚠️ Tornado Watch issued June 17 at 7:49AM CDT until June 17 at 3:00PM CDT by NWS Lincoln IL
⚠️ Wind Advisory issued June 17 at 1:55AM CDT until June 17 at 7:00PM CDT by NWS Lincoln IL
Today Jun 16
84° 66°
Chance Showers And Thunderstorms
Latest News Stories
WATCH: Senators slam fraud, call for welfare scrutiny in Minnesota
By Andrew RiceThe Center Square U.S. Senators on Wednesday called for more scrutiny over welfare payments and railed against allegations of fraud in Minnesota and across the country. The senators...
Nurses demand inclusion in professional degree definition
By Esther WickhamThe Center Square The American Nurses Association is urging the public to call for nurses to be added back into the definition of “professional degrees” after the Trump...
Early voting starts Thursday in most Illinois jurisdictions
By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Early voting is scheduled to begin Thursday in most Illinois jurisdictions for the state’s Democratic and Republican...
Trump tells Iranian leaders they ‘should be very worried’
By Sarah Roderick-FitchThe Center Square Iran’s leadership “should be very worried,” President Donald Trump warned Wednesday amid conflicting reports that talks between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic had been...
Illinois Quick Hits: Group files FOIA lawsuit vs. Pritzker
By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Judicial Watch has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. The suit...
First lady meets with former Oct. 7 hostages
By Sarah Roderick-FitchThe Center Square American citizen and Chapel Hill, N.C. native, Keith Siegel and his wife Aviva focused their meeting with First Lady Melania Trump on hope and a...
U.S. regulator licenses deepwater port in Gulf for oil exports
By Alton WallaceThe Center Square Texas GulfLink has received a license to build and operate a deepwater port in the Gulf of America, marking the first such approval in the...
Supreme Court declines challenge to California’s congressional map
By Andrew RiceThe Center Square The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to California's redistricting bid that would add more Democrat-majority districts in the state. In November, California...
Candidate: $243 million in unlawful spending is example of ‘Preckwinkle’s mismanagement’
By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – A candidate for Cook County board president says county spending of $243 million in violation of Illinois’...
Tillis probes ICE practices after calling Noem a ‘sycophant’
By Brett RowlandThe Center Square A Republican Senator wants answers about reports of U.S. citizens being detained as part of President Donald Trump's widespread immigration enforcement campaign. Sen. Thom Tillis,...
GOP lawmakers urge Thune to tweak filibuster rules to pass voter ID bill
By Thérèse BoudreauxThe Center Square Dozens of Republicans are demanding that the U.S. Senate take up House-passed legislation implementing election security reforms – and they’re willing to restructure filibuster rules...
Illinois housing crunch sees prices rising, units dwindling
By Glenn Minnis | The Center Square contributorThe Center Square (The Center Square) – With Illinois facing a housing shortage fueled by dwindling availability and rising prices, Illinois Policy Institute...
700 federal agents to leave Minnesota, Homan says
By Andrew RiceThe Center Square The Trump administration will remove 700 federal agents who are assisting immigration enforcement measures in Minnesota, White House Border Czar Tom Homan said Wednesday. Homan...
