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 is the only status which achieves true fairness and equality.

Status: Anti-Marriage Law

Groups Actively Working on Marriage

Equality Illinois: the central statewide organization working to secure, protect and defend equalrights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Illinois

Equal Marriage Illinois-Champaign County: a joint collaborative project of EqualityIllinois, Lambda Legal and the Roger Baldwin Foundation of the ACLU ofIllinois, the project seeks to educate about the real harms faced byLGBT families denied the benefit of marriage protections