Politics & Government
Oak Parkers Near Top of Civil Union Registration List
Data shows Chicago couples claim most civil union licenses; Evanston and Oak Park lead suburbs.
More than 1,000 civil unions have been issued by the Cook County Clerk's Office since June 1, the first day civil unions became legal in Illinois.
As of Wednesday, July 27, 1,059 civil licenses have been issued in Cook County, officials said.
Leading the charge are hundreds of Chicago couples — Cook County Clerk David Orr's Office said about 65 percent were residents of the city. In the suburbs, couples from the villages of Evanston and Oak Park ranked highest, with 41 licenses issued to Evanston couples and 33 issued to Oak Park couples.
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Civil union licenses, while stopping short of the many protections afforded same-sex couples in a so-called traditional marriage, do offer couples certain legal "protections, benefits and responsibilities."
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And the licenses aren't limited to same-sex couples. In fact, one heterosexual couple in Oak Park has received a civil union license.
Orr's office issued a report recently showing the statistics like age, education level and ethnicity for those who received the licenses. That report accompanies this story as a PDF document.
The Cook County Clerk's Office website has much more information about the process of obtaining a civil union license.
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