Gov. Pat Quinn will be in Chicago’s Millennium Park on June 2 to watch 30 same-sex couples enter into civil unions.
The city’s Advisory Council on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues is hosting the morning event, which occurs one day after civil unions become legal throughout Illinois.
The Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act was passed in December and signed into law by Quinn in January. Illinois is the sixth state to allow civil unions, which provide same-sex couples many of the state-level legal protections that come with marriage, including hospital visitation rights.
According to the city’s statement, the 30 couples will get their civil union licenses from the Cook County Clerk’s office on June 1. The law requires that couples wait until the day after they get their licenses before holding a civil union ceremony.
With Quinn in attendance, the ceremonies will be conducted by public officials including County Clerk David Orr and Timothy Evans, chief judge of Cook County Circuit Court, the city’s statement said.