With 30 of their closest friends and relatives on hand, and with Chicago’s stunning skyline as a backdrop, Mary Bernas and Hiliana Leon plan to exchange vows at a June 25 commitment ceremony at the John Hancock Observatory. Then there will be a big celebration and dinner at a downtown restaurant.
But today is a big day for the New Lenox women, too. Bernas and Leon and scores of other same-sex couples across Illinois are expected to apply for civil union licenses as a new state law takes effect, bestowing on them rights already granted to married couples.
Gov. Pat Quinn signed the historic civil unions legislation into law in January, making Illinois the seventh state, along with the District of Columbia, to give same-sex couples significant legal protections. They include the power to decide medical care for an ailing partner, the right to inherit a partner’s property, get full hospital visitation rights and be considered next of kin.
