To discuss the gambling industry in Illinois, The 21st was joined by the associate director of an Illinois group fighting problem gambling and the editor of a publication focused on the gambling industry.

We’re a couple of weeks into 2020, which means we’re in the middle of a massive gambling expansion across Illinois.

The mayor of Danville lives near a Big Lots store, where a bus from East Peoria’s Par-A-Dice Casino regularly stops to pick up customers. Mayor Rickey Williams Junior says he hopes a casino planned for his eastern Illinois city will lead to other buses bringing out-of-towners to Danville instead.