WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

The beginning of the Illinois spring legislative session kicks off Tuesday.

Lawmakers were wrapping up the fall veto session in Springfield. Some of the issues they were considering were significant to Chicago--from gambling to red light cameras. Furthermore, owners of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange waited to see if legislatures will give them a tax break to stay put.

Monday was a tough day at the track for proponents of gambling expansion in Illinois. The General Assembly’s gambling bill never actually made it to Gov. Pat Quinn’s desk; but that didn’t stop him from shooting it down.

 Illinois opened its first casino in 20 years last month. It was so popular, it caused a major traffic jam on the Tri-State Tollway. So far, the Des Plaines Rivers Casino rakes in enough money to put it on track for a successful year; but that does not mean Illinois can handle more gambling.

Illinois’ redistricting process lurched forward Friday as Governor Pat Quinn signed into law a new map of congressional districts for the 2012 elections. His action is expected to spur lawsuits from groups opposing the map, particularly Republicans.

The summer season may not yet be official, but Memorial Day Weekend had plenty of folks arriving and departing. That was the theme throughout the month of May. Chicago's new Mayor Rahm Emanuel arrived at City Hall and Oprah departed, leaving a huge vacancy in Chicago’s field of media queens.