Actress Bo Derek is smiling this week. On Wednesday, the Illinois Senate voted 39-16 to approve a measure that would ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption in the state. The new law would force closure of the foreign-owned DeKalb slaughterhouse and processing plant. Governor Rod Blagojevich’s aide said he will sign the bill.

Bo Derek targeted the Illinois legislation as her priority and campaigned to convince Illinois lawmakers of the need for a ban.

In Texas, meanwhile, the two slaughterhouses gained a second wind when a measure added to a pet welfare bill countered a recent court ruling to close the slaughterhouses.

The issue is no longer about horses; it is about lawyers, celebrities and….money.