Illinois quick hits: Medicaid coverage for parental home visits; 'Trouble in Toyland' report

Illinois quick hits: Medicaid coverage for parental home visits; ‘Trouble in Toyland’ report

November 24, 2025/
Spread the love

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

Medicaid coverage for parental home visits

The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services has launched new Medicaid coverage of home visiting services for pregnant and parenting customers.

Covered prenatal home visits include health education, blood pressure monitoring, behavioral health screenings, domestic and intimate partner violence education, stress management and more.

IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said the expanded Medicaid coverage is a critical step in the agency’s mission to improve health outcomes.

‘Trouble in Toyland’ report

The Trouble in Toyland 2025 report is out ahead of the holiday shopping season and it raises concerns around hidden dangers in toys.

The Public Interest Research Group’s Education Fund released the 40th annual report Monday and highlights AI toys with privacy concerns and explicit content, toys with lead from other countries and water beads, something the group says is a longtime threat.

Construction lanes to open

The Illinois Department of Transportation announced Monday that lanes that have been closed for construction will reopen, where possible, for the long Thanksgiving weekend to minimize travel disruption.

Non-emergency closures will be suspended from 3 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 26, to 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 30.

Community Events

Leave a Comment





Latest News Stories

Trump eyes First Amendment showdown with order to prosecute flag burning

Trump eyes First Amendment showdown with order to prosecute flag burning

By Brett RowlandThe Center Square President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday requiring federal prosecutors to investigate and prosecute people for burning the American flag, a practice the U.S....
Trump strikes positive tone with South Korean president

Trump strikes positive tone with South Korean president

By Morgan SweeneyThe Center Square Onlookers braced for another tense, confrontational meeting in the Oval Office between President Donald Trump and another world leader when, Monday morning, Trump posted to...
House Oversight Committee to investigate D.C. police over crime data

House Oversight Committee to investigate D.C. police over crime data

By Sarah Roderick-FitchThe Center Square In response to allegations that Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department manipulated its crime data, the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is launching...
Twenty years later, Katrina still among Atlantic’s most deadly, costly

Twenty years later, Katrina still among Atlantic’s most deadly, costly

By Alan WootenThe Center Square Twenty years ago this Friday, Hurricane Katrina – once a Category 5 beast – made landfall as a Category 3 first in southeastern Louisiana and...
CBO says tariffs could raise $4 trillion over next decade, raise prices

CBO says tariffs could raise $4 trillion over next decade, raise prices

By Brett RowlandThe Center Square The Congressional Budget Office's estimated that President Donald Trump's tariffs could bring in $4 trillion over the next decade, but will raise consumer prices and...
IL Treasurer to work with lawmakers after Pritzker's veto of nonprofit bill

IL Treasurer to work with lawmakers after Pritzker’s veto of nonprofit bill

By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs is promising to discuss next steps with lawmakers after Gov. J.B. Pritzker vetoed...
Democratic AGs decry 'political retaliation' against James

Democratic AGs decry ‘political retaliation’ against James

By Chris WadeThe Center Square A group of Democratic attorneys general has circled the wagons around New York Attorney General Letitia James, accusing the U.S. Department of Justice of waging...
Trump says he plans to rename Department of Defense

Trump says he plans to rename Department of Defense

By Brett RowlandThe Center Square President Donald Trump said Monday that next week the U.S. Department of Defense could once again return to an earlier name: War Department, a moniker...
WATCH: Trump moves to end cashless bail in D.C., nationwide

WATCH: Trump moves to end cashless bail in D.C., nationwide

By Sarah Roderick-FitchThe Center Square Two weeks after declaring “Liberation Day” in Washington, D.C., to combat crime, President Donald Trump signed executive orders to end cashless bail in the nation’s...
Five incidents of swatting college campuses drawing concern

Five incidents of swatting college campuses drawing concern

By Alan WootenThe Center Square Four times since Thursday major college campuses along the Atlantic Seaboard have been brought to a halt. Four times, they’ve all been a hoax, or...
WATCH: Chicago reacts to Trump’s public safety push; AI in schools; rural health care

WATCH: Chicago reacts to Trump’s public safety push; AI in schools; rural health care

By Greg Bishop | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – In today's edition of Illinois in Focus Daily, The Center Square Editor Greg Bishop delves into the...
Will County Recorder Graphic.1

Will County Board Approves New Fee Schedule for Recorder of Deeds

Article Summary: The Will County Board has approved a revised fee schedule for the Recorder of Deeds office, which will take effect on October 1, 2025. The changes, based on...
Illinois expands campus abortion access, shields doctors from legal risk

Illinois expands campus abortion access, shields doctors from legal risk

By Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributorThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed new laws expanding abortion access on public college campuses while vowing to...
Illinois quick hits: Human trafficking enforcement; health care fraud division announced

Illinois quick hits: Human trafficking enforcement; health care fraud division announced

By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square Human trafficking enforcement Illinois State Police arrested five individuals during a human trafficking demand suppression operation in the Forsyth area of...
Nonprofit files complaints against Trump attorneys but almost no public discipline

Nonprofit files complaints against Trump attorneys but almost no public discipline

By Arthur KaneThe Center Square Two nonprofits run by an attorney with long-time Democratic connections have been filing ethics complaints against lawyers who represented Trump officials or issues, seeking to...