Spring Valley Democrat Frank Mautino has gotten Senate Bill 349 onto the House floor.

It would put slot machines where liquor is served, fraternal organizations, veterans’ clubs and truck stops.

Incredibly, no state senator opposed the bill. The vote was 55-0.

Mautino’s LaSalle County has, of course, a vibrant history of illegal gambling.

If this bill is passed, we’ll soon look like South Dakota.

And I’m not talking carving the heads of jailed ex-governors into the cliffs of Starved Rock, which might rival Mount Rushmore with proper publicity.

Or some part of gang-controlled Chicago the Illinois Office of Tourism could market as our “Badlands.”

The Shell station you see here is in Sioux City, South Dakota.

When Penny Pullen and I visited there in September two years ago, we found a casino behind a convenience store which one could enter through the local McDonald’s.

Right past a Ronald McDonald Happy Meal sign.

Your town could be Potterville, too.

But, don’t worry.

It’s for the kids, doncha know?