You may remember that
Illinois enacted civil unions in mid-2011. Much more recently,
the state's Senate just voted last week to pass a marriage equality bill, which will soon to go the House and then to Illinois' governor. It's expected to get signed into law without much hassle. Today,
Crain's Chicago Business published the results of a new Illinois-based poll that shows pretty significant support by Illinois residents for same-sex marriage! We're talking about nearly 2-to-1 support:
Most Illinois residents want the Legislature to legalize same-sex marriage in the state, according to the latest results of the Crain's/Ipsos Illinois Poll. The survey of 600 adults found that 50 percent support the gay-marriage bill that cleared the state Senate last week and now awaits action in the House. That's considerably more than the 29 percent who oppose it, with 20 percent saying they don't know or have mixed feelings on the matter. As expected, support is strongest in Chicago, with 56 percent backing passage. A majority of 52 percent of suburban residents supports approval, but support drops to a plurality of 48 percent downstate. The online survey had an accuracy rate of plus or minus 4.7 percent statewide, with wider ranges for numbers specific to Chicago or its suburbs.
If/when Illinois passes its marriage equality bill into law, Illinois will become the 10th state to allow its gay and lesbian couples to share in the rights and responsibilities of marriage.
