Area politicians and organization officials held a forum Jan. 15 at the Loyola Park Fieldhouse, 1230 W. Greenleaf Ave., to discuss the implications of the marriage-equality law scheduled to take effect June 1.
Among those in attendance were state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, Cook County Clerk David Orr, state Sen. Heather Steans and Ed Yohnka of ACLU Illinois. Ald. Joe Moore's office organized the forum.
Yohnka discussed the progress of lawsuits filed by ACLU Illinois and Lambda Legal on behalf of couples wishing to marry earlier than June 1. So far, couples wherein one of the partners is contending with a terminal illness have been able to get their marriage license and marry in Cook County. But Yohnka said that the plaintiffs had filed additional arguments on behalf of couples without life-threatening conditions that didn't want to wait, and that Orr's office, which is the defendant in the case, had filed a response with no objections. Orr has long been a supporter of marriage equality.
"I wish all our defendents were David Orr," Yohnka said. "It turns out that, if the other side doesn't fight, it's easy to get things done."
All the parties to the suit are now waiting for a decision to come down from U.S. District Judge Sharon Coleman as to whether other couples can marry early. If the additional marriages end up being allowed, couples in other parts of Illinois would have to marry in Cook County until the law officially takes effect in June.
Orr said that about five couples have exercised the right for an early marriage so far. "I think more will come forward. If the court doesn't move quickly on that, June 1 will be the first day you can get a license. We will be open on June 1, which is a Sunday."
Since a 24-hour waiting period is standard after obtaining the license, marriages officially can begin taking place on June 2, according to Orr.
Steans, who sponsored SB10 in the Senate, added that an estimated 11,000 couples would marry because of the law, adding that an important part of the challenge was "educating legislators about how much their constituents supported it."
Cassidy described the personal stakes for her own life, given that she and her partner became engaged the night SB10 passed the Senate. "It's rare that there's a person associated with a bill, not to mention a person who sits next to you every day."
With the effort constituents made to connect with legislators, Cassidy said it was undeniably one of the few times that most legislators connected a bill with the lives of the people in their districts.
"They heard [constituents'] real questions," Cassidy added. "For some it changed their votes. For some it cemented their votes, and for some it gave them a chance to think, and maybe we'll get them the next time."
She pointed to addressing bullying in schools and protections for trans citizens as two issues to focus attention on now, and said that she did not want to see community members lose the boisterous energy that helped SB10 become law of the land.
"The rally, and the energy from that, felt like 'the cavalry had arrived' at a time where our energy was low," Cassidy said. "It was a fabulous experience, but I want to encourage folks not to be 'done.'"
