The Civil Union Act a Year Later

Lawmakers intended for same sex couples in civil unions to be treated identically to heterosexual couples in marriages when they passed the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act, which took effect on June 1, 2011.

Almost 5000 couples entered into civil unions during this first year.  But during the course of the year, through a study conducted by Equality Illinois, it was found that couples in civil unions definitely aren’t being treated equally yet. There is a long way to go before there is true equality for couples in civil unions.