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Adobe Stock

The 21st Show

As Pride Month ends, Midwest splits on LGBTQ rights

Illinois has strengthened its protections for LGBTQ people in recent years. But just across the border, the picture looks different: Iowa has stripped gender identity from its civil rights law, Missouri's Supreme Court has upheld a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, and Indiana's governor has declared June "Nuclear Family Month." All of it comes as a new U.S. Supreme Court ruling allows states to exclude transgender women and girls from female sports teams — and as national polling shows support for LGBTQ rights slipping from its peak.

We talk with LGBTQ advocates from across the region — in the Quad Cities, St. Louis, and Evansville, Indiana — about what's changed, how their communities are adapting, and what Pride means as the political climate shifts.

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the ferris wheel has 24 passenger cars, each of which is framed in white and red lights; fog obscures the dome of the Capitol Building, which is still visible in the background; in the foreground you can see the golden eagle atop a mock version of the
Jen Golbeck/AP

The 21st Show

Illinois skipped the Great American State Fair; Peoria stepped in

As the United States marks its 250th birthday, the celebration has split into two: America250, the bipartisan effort Congress created in 2016, and Freedom 250, established by executive order from President Trump. The overlap has caused confusion — and some musicians backed out of the Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C., saying they weren't told about its ties to the Trump administration.

Several states, including Illinois, declined to participate. But the 21st state will be represented after all — by the Peoria Riverfront Museum.

Brian Mackey talks with museum president and CEO John Morris about how a downstate institution ended up filling in for Illinois, what visitors to its exhibit will see, and what it's like navigating a politically charged event. The Illinois exhibit is open through July 10 in Washington, D.C.

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a man with short hair is silhouetted against the glow of video gambling machines
Julia Rendleman for Capitol News Illinois

The 21st Show

The human cost of Illinois’ gambling boom

Gambling in Illinois used to mean a trip to a riverboat, a racetrack, or the lottery counter. Now it's in restaurants and gas stations — and on the phone in your pocket. Illinoisans lost more than $7.7 billion gambling last year, and a third of that money flows to state government.

But a recent investigation — "Addicted to gambling in Illinois," a joint project of the Illinois Answers Project and Capitol News Illinois — found the state invests relatively little in helping the hundreds of thousands of residents estimated to have a gambling problem.

Brian Mackey talks with reporters Casey Toner and Maggie Dougherty about what they found, from a Metropolis gas station that's taken in more than $223 million to the gap between gambling revenue and treatment funding. They're joined by Jimmy M., who has been in recovery from compulsive gambling for more than a decade and hosts the podcast Gambling Recovery: Take Back Your Life.

If you or someone you know is struggling, Illinois' helpline is 1-800-GAMBLER.

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three glass negatives of Mary Lincoln wearing a dark dress; the cover of 'An Inconvenient Widow' shows the back of a woman's head meant to suggest Mary lincoln, with fark curly hair and a violet dress with elaborate black beading and embroidery
Brady-Handy Collection/Library of Congress

The 21st Show

Journalist Lois Romano says Mary Lincoln was ‘An Inconvenient Widow’

Many of us were taught Mary Lincoln was a spendthrift, a little crazy, and a drag on her husband’s greatness. We’ll challenge all that with journalist Lois Romano, who’s written a new biography of Abraham Lincoln's wife.

“I think once a narrative is formed, it’s really hard to shake it,” Romano told The 21st Show. “And her narrative was written 150 years ago, and it was written by men who just couldn’t stand her. And they projected onto her things that just weren’t there.”

The book is called “An Inconvenient Widow: The Torment, Trial, and Triumph of Mary Todd Lincoln.”
 

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Illinois Arts Council Agency

These programs are partially sponsored by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.