Tag: Illinois

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Illinois: Marriage equality to be signed into law November 20th

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn will sign marriage equality into law on November 20th at the University of Illinois

Governor Pat Quinn announced Thursday that he will sign the marriage equality bill at the University of Illinois at Chicago in a 3:30 p.m. ceremony on November 20th. The Legislature passed the measure Tuesday.

A longtime same-sex marriage supporter, the Chicago Democrat says he’s looking forward to signing the legislation and “celebrating a big step forward with the people of Illinois.”

The University of Illinois at Chicago was recently named by Campus Pride Index as one of the top 25 campuses across the country for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students.

The ceremony is free and open to the public.

Illinois becomes the 15th state in the union to legalize marriage equality

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Updated marriage equality map for USA

Updated map of USA showing where marriage equality has passed into law as of November 6, 2013

Yesterday, marriage equality legislation was passed by the state legislature with a 61–54 vote in the house and a 32–21 vote in the senate.

The bill will now go to the Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, who has said he will sign it.

Gay couples will be able to marry in Illinois starting June 1.

Celebrate Illinois!  Happy Dance Time!

(graphic via Slate)

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Infographic: Economic effects of marriage equality in Illinois

The economic effect of passing marriage equality in Illinois

The Williams Institute has released an infographic detailing the potential economic effects of marriage equality in Illinois.

Among other things:

• Estimate is 11, 525 LGBT couples will marry in first three years
• That could result in $103 million in spending in relation to weddings
• The state could see $8.5 million in tax revenues in relation to that spending
• Illinois’ addition of marriage equality bring the total to 37% (from 33%) of Americans living in states with marriage equality

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NOM’s Brian Brown is uber-unhappy about marriage equality in Illinois

Brian Brown of the anti-gay hate group National Organization for Marriage

Brian Brown, of the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage, is not very happy about the passage of marriage equality in Illinois:

“It’s disappointing but not surprising that the House has voted to redefine marriage. The losers will be the people of Illinois who will see that redefining marriage will unleash a torrent of harassment toward those who believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. Once the law goes into effect in June of next year, we will see individuals, businesses and religious groups sued, fined, brought up on charges of discrimination and punished simply for holding true to the traditional view of marriage.

[snip]

“The legislation that has been adopted contains no meaningful protections for religious liberty. We will see a torrent of actions aimed at people of faith and religious groups. All we need to do is recall the words of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel when Chick-fil-A’s CEO expressed his support for true marriage. Emanuel pledged that businesses like that would not be allowed to operate in Chicago.”

Soon, Brian’s paycheck may be drying up as campaigning against the rights of LGBT folks is his only reason for being employed.

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Illinois House passes marriage equality 61-53

The Illinois House of Representatives finally took up marriage equality today and passed the bill 61-53.

Rep. Greg Harris, the chief sponsor of the marriage equality bill in the House, amended its language to change the date the legislation would go into effect, and to reiterate exemptions for private clubs that do not want to host marriages for same-sex couples. As a result, the Senate will have to approve the bill one final time, which they are prepared to do before the evening is over.

The law will then take effect June 1, 2014. Illinois will be the 15th state to legalize marriage for same-sex couples.  Hawaii could beat Illinois to the “alter” should that state’s bill pass this week.

Happy Dances for everyone!

(via Think Progress)

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Rally in Illinois for marriage equality – “Pass the damn bill”

From the YouTube description: “October 26, 2013 outside the invisible Greg Harris’s office the beginning of what is going to be a series of protests throughout the state to politicians to get this message to pass this bill now. They should see this as a warning about how the LGBTQ community is going to vote. We will be watching. We will be waiting. We will not forget. We WILL run better candidates against those Democratic legislators who fail to live up to doing the right thing for all Illinois citizens.”

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Illinois: Free “Rock the March” concert to kick off March on Springfield for Marriage Equality

Nationally prominent performers with Illinois roots will kick off the “March on Springfield for Marriage Equality” on Tuesday, Oct. 22 with a free one-hour concert live near the steps of the Illinois State Capitol. The diverse entertainment bill includes reality TV stars from “The Voice,” “American Idol,” and “America’s Got Talent;” a national poetry slam winner; a world champion & MVP quarterback who is also a pre-Grammy nominee; and a 2013 Trans 100 honoree fighting violence against transgender people.

In addition to LGBT Choral groups, headlining performers will be:

*       Sandra Antongiorgi – World, Latin, neo-soul singer, songwriter & painter
*       C.C. Carter – author, activist, teacher and performance poet
*       De’Borah – singer, song-writer and star of “The Voice”
*       Steve Grand – “All American Boy” singer, song-writer and YouTube sensation
*       Sami Grisafe – all-star MVP quarterback and award-winning singer-songwriter
*       Kokumo – African-American transgender woman, singer, writer & performer
*       Stephen Leonard – Out rock powerhouse singer & song-writer
*       Marcus Terell & the Serenades – singer, performer and star of “American                             Idol”, “America’s Got Talent” & “Making The Band”

The concert will begin at noon on October 22, 2013, at the March on Springfield stage in front of the Illinois State Capitol on 2nd Street.

The marriage equality rally will immediately follow the concert, with a march around the State Capitol starting at 2:30 pm. There is no cost to attend and members of the public are welcome.

For more information, visit www.marchonspringfield.org

Via press release

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Why Illinois shouldn’t have to wait for marriage equality

Robb and Steve had been together since Christmas Day 2011 and entered into a civil union in Illinois in January 2013. While 13 other states enacted marriage equality but Illinois did not, Steve developed Stage 3 Melanoma and grew seriously ill. By the time it became clear how sick Steve was, it was too late for the couple even to travel out-of-state to get married. Steve died last week – on September 10th, 2013. He was 32.

Says Robert:

“He wanted one thing in his whole life and that was to get married and he didn’t get it. And he will never get it now. And I don’t think they realize that we’re real people. Thousands of us have probably missed out just in Illinois. I don’t understand the problem. People are dying without being equal. Civil unions are not marriage. A different title does not mean it’s the same thing. You have a group of people that you call something different and yes, everybody’s gonna think they’re different. And we’re not, really.”

Just one among many reasons why marriage equality is important and cannot wait any longer.