Republican gubernatorial front-runner Sen. Bill Brady (R-Bloomington) proposed amending the Illinois constitution to ban same-sex marriage; according the Chicago Sun-Times. Going even further than other same-sex marriage opponents, Sen. Brady reportedly plans to seek a ban on civil unions for gay and lesbian couples.
Furthermore, Sen. Brady voted against a 2005 law banning discrimination against gays and lesbians in the context of housing and employment, the Chicago Tribune reported last month. An Illinois family lawyer may be able to shed more light on the rights of same-sex domestic partnership and employment law issues.
Illinois does not currently provide for civil unions between same-sex partners, according to an article in ChicagoPride, but Equality Illinois political director Rick Garcia told reporters that momentum is building:
"Polling in the past has indicated that Illinois voters support civil unions and there is growing support in the legislature. I am hopeful that we will pass the civil union bill sooner than later."
If Sen. Brady were to be elected governor, his veto power could scuttle legislative efforts to pass a civil union bill, the article suggests. Employment benefits, such as health care insurance, are available to domestic partners of Chicago and Cook County employees, according to FindLaw.
Stalled legislation introduced in the Illinois House three years ago, called the Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act, would mandate that "protections, benefits, and responsibilities of partners in a civil union are the same as those granted to spouses in a marriage," according to the text of the bill.
Roughly two-thirds of Illinois residents opposed gay marriage, according to the results of a 2005 survey conducted by Northern Illinois University and published at About.com. However, while only one-third supported gay marriage, another one-third expressed support of civil unions.
Related Resources:
- Developments in Same-Sex Marriage Law (FindLaw)
- Why Civil Unions are Not Enough (FindLaw)
- Directory of Chicago Family Law Attorneys (FindLaw)
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