Today Last Day for Illinois to Vote on Gay Marriage Recognition

Bluest legislature in the Midwest states to adjourn this evening

The clock is ticking for those who hope Illinois will become the 13th state to legalize same-sex marriage.

The Illinois General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn its spring session Friday night, and the marriage equality bill still has not been called for a vote in the state House, where supporters are struggling to round up the 60 votes necessary to pass it.

Advocates of LGBT rights had hoped to make Illinois the first Midwestern state to legalize same-sex marriage legislatively (in Iowa, the state Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in 2009), but Minnesota beat the Land of Lincoln to that distinction earlier this month.