WATCH: Chicago reacts to Trump’s public safety push; AI in schools; rural health care
August 25, 2025/
(The Center Square) – In today’s edition of Illinois in Focus Daily, The Center Square Editor Greg Bishop delves into the issue of President Donald Trump saying he will address public safety in cities like Chicago and the reaction from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Bishop talks live with Mark Hurley, a retired Air Force Colonel, about the use of artificial intelligence in schools with a new program called The Shepherd’s Code. They also discuss the president’s use of the National Guard for public safety.
Finally, Bishop gives both sides of the debate about recent federal legislation the president enacted to shore up waste, fraud and abuse in health care subsidies. Democrats say it will decimate rural hospitals. Vice President J.D. Vance says the focus is getting illegal aliens out of the country.
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.
Latest News Stories
WATCH: Trump order withholds funds over no-cash bail policies like Illinois’
By Greg Bishop | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Taxpayer resources should not be used to support jurisdictions with cashless bail policies, according to a new...
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
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...