831 civil union licenses issued in Cook County in first month of availability

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Alen Nicholas and Jef Johnson of bronzeville before the 'Unions in the Park' the cities celebration of the first day of civil unions in Illinois, officiated by volunteer judges. Thursday, June 02, 2011 | Brian Jackson~Sun-Times

Updated: July 20, 2011 2:45PM

More than 800 civil union licenses were issued in Cook County through the end of June, the first month civil union licenses were issued in Illinois.

June 1, the day a new law kicked in granting gays and lesbians some of the same rights as married couples, was the busiest day with 209 licenses issued, according to statistics released Monday by Cook County Clerk David Orr’s office.

The remainder of the month, an average of 30 licenses were issued daily for a monthlong total of 831. In addition to the licenses issued in June, 125 couples obtained civil union licenses through Friday, July 15.

“It’s thrilling to see so many happy couples getting licenses and celebrating their relationships,” Orr said in a statement. “My office is dedicated to making this milestone special for each and every couple.”

Statewide numbers were not immediately available through the Illinois Department of Public Health’s vital statistics office.

But Equality Illinois, a gay and lesbian rights group, has been tracking numbers for each county in Illinois, and by the end of June calculated that statewide 1,618 civil union licenses had been issued. Illinois will become just the sixth state to recognize civil unions or domestic partnerships.

The group provided the following figures for civil union licenses issued in June in suburban and other area counties: DuPage, 83; Grundy, 1; Kane, 48; Kankakee, 17; Kendall, 16; Lake, 52; McHenry, 25, and Will, 72.

A closer look at the Cook County demographics tracked by the clerk’s office shows 65 percent of the couples who took out applications live in Chicago. But suburban couples were definitely part of the equation, representing 68 different municipalities. Here’s a sampling: 35 couples from Evanston took out licenses, followed by 24 in Oak Park, eight in Berwyn, seven in Homewood, six in Arlington Heights and four in Matteson.

Women edged out men in the numbers game: female couples took out 428 licenses or 51.5 percent while men took out 357 or 43 percent of the licenses. Opposite-sex couples accounted for 46 of the licenses or 5.5 percent.

Some other statistics:

◆ The oldest applicant for a civil union license was 93.

◆ The racial diversity of couples was clear. At least one partner was Hispanic in 13 percent of female unions and 15 percent of male unions, while at least one partner was African-American in 22 percent of female unions and 10 percent of male unions.

The county clerk’s office collected more than $37,000 through July 15 in new revenues from civil union application fees, civil union certificates and duplicate copies of records.

The Cook County clerk’s office issued 3,592 marriage licenses in June. Gov. Pat Quinn signed the law in January, and it kicked in June 1. While it doesn’t alter state law recognizing marriage as being between a man and woman, it affords gays and lesbians new rights involving their partners regarding hospital visits, health-care decision-making and the disposal of remains and estates.