In May, I reported that it looked like it would soon be legal in Illinois to take or possess "fur-bearing mammals found dead or unintentionally killed by a vehicle along a roadway," given that the state Senate had just passed the relevant bill unanimously. Sadly for those of you who may have been poised ever since to git out there and git you some free meat, I must now report that Governor Pat Quinn has vetoed the bill.

According to the all-too-brief report, Quinn said in his veto message that he was worried about the safety of drivers or others who might be encouraged by the legislation to stop along the road and pick up flattened mammals. He urged lawmakers to consider amendments to address his safety concerns, although probably not with a straight face because I can't imagine any way in which they might do that.

The bill was introduced by Rep. Norine Hammond, who credited a constituent with the idea that he believed would "assist the state with both roadkill and financial issues" by getting citizens to scarf up roadside carcasses at no cost to state government. I don't know how much of the state's $2.4 billion budget shortfall they projected this would cover, but I guess it's back to the drawing board.