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Illinois
Illinois, home to over 30,000 same-sex couples, introduced both a marriage equality bill and a civil unions bill in the 2007 legislative session. Although the marriage bill was shelved, state advocates have set the bar at marriage. While incremental steps such as civil unions do provide some protections and responsibilities, ultimately, marriage (pdf) is the only status which achieves true fairness and equality.
WHERE YOU CAN GO TO GET INVOLVED OR LEARN MORE:
Equality Illinois
The Mission of Equality Illinois is to secure, protect and defend equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Illinois.
ACLU-Illinois: Gay and Lesbian Rights Project
The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois is a non-profit, non-partisan organization, dedicated to protecting freedom, liberty, equality and justice for all within the United States. The Gay and Lesbian Rights Project protects the civil rights of lesbians and gay men, and works to achieve legal precedents against policies and practices which deny gay men and lesbians rights and benefits given to others.
Equal Marriage Illinois-Champaign County
Equal Marriage Illinois is a joint collaborative project of Equality Illinois, Lambda Legal and the Roger Baldwin Foundation of the ACLU of Illinois. The project seeks to educate about the real harms faced by LGBT families denied the benefit of marriage protections.
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LEGISLATIVE STATUS IN ILLINOIS:
Your Community—Illinois
Human Rights Campaign (HRC)
HRC presents resources, news, and the current marriage and
relationship recognition laws in each state.
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PUBLICATIONS:
Illinois Census Snapshot
December 2007
Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, this report provides demographic and economic information about same-sex couples and same-sex couples raising children in Illinois.
Geographic Trends Among Same-Sex Couples in the U.S. Census and the
American Community Survey
Williams Institute
November 2007
Gary Gates at the Williams Institute released groundbreaking research
on the geographic trends among same-sex couples. The report finds the
biggest increases in Southern and Mountain states and states barring
legal acceptance of same-sex couples had larger percentage increases
in same-sex couples from 2000 to 2006.
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NEWS:
View news about the fight for the freedom to marry in Illinois.
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MULTIMEDIA:
VIDEO: All couples bicker
Young & Rubicam in Chicago and HSI director Max Vitali have shot three new commercials for Equal Marriage Illinois. The message: Gay couple irritate each other just as much as straight couples do.
VIDEO: Chicago couple in love
Eleventh Avenue South
October 10, 2006
Marriage is a powerful and important source of social support and recognition, and the legal gateway to protections, responsibilities, and benefits. It is also, simply and ultimately, about love.
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Williams Institute
December 2007
Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, this report provides demographic and economic information about same-sex couples and same-sex couples raising children in Illinois.
Read families’ stories about how marriage discrimination affects everyday life. These stories communicate, in concrete ways, how the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage hurts families and helps no one.
