Downstate Jackson County is the most recent addition to the growing list of Illinois counties allowing marriage equality ahead of the previously planned June 1 start date.
Jackson County Clerk Larry Reinhardt told the Southern Illinoisan that Attorney General Lisa Madigan's affirming the right of county clerk's to issue same-sex marriage licenses spurred his decision.
"We were only three months away from ( the legislation's original ) implementation," Reinhardt said. "I didn't think it was worth the chance to open us up for a lawsuit."
Joe Powers and Duane Cole, who have been together for 33 years, were the first gay couple to receive their marriage license. They were also the first couple to get a civil union in Jackson County back in June 2011.
"It was important because we have waited so long," Cole told the Southern Illinoisan. "We never believed this day would come. It has been a very slow process."
After Judge Sharon Coleman declared Illinois' gay marriage ban unconstitutional Feb. 21, she ordered that marriages for same-sex couples could begin immediately in Cook County. Some other Illinois counties followed suit and began issuing licenses as well in subsequent weeks. Other county authorities have said they want to wait until June 1, which was the planned effective date of the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, for fear of complicating divorce and probate litigation with the early start date.
Madigan said March 4 that by not offering licenses to gay couples, counties might be opening themselves up to lawsuits, and added that her office would likely intervene on behalf of the couples.
The Southern Illinoisan's article is here: bit.ly/1iecAoA .