Ready for civil unions

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Updated: July 7, 2011 2:10PM

JOLIET — Will County Clerk Nancy Schultz Voots is prepared for what could be a long line of people waiting to get into her office Wednesday morning.

Wednesday is the first day gay or heterosexual couples can apply for civil union licenses in Illinois.

“We’re ready for them,” Voots said Friday.

Many staffers in the clerk’s office are trained to process wedding licenses and the civil union licenses will be very similar, Voots said.

Her office opens at 8:30 a.m., and Voots wouldn’t be surprised to see people waiting to get in on the historic day.

“We’ve been getting a lot of calls,” she said. “Some might want to wait. Some might want to be the first one to get the license. We don’t really know what to expect.”

Couples applying will have to show ID, a birth certificate and a driver’s license, and have proof of marriage dissolutions or the death of a spouse if they were married before. The clerk’s office has access to Will County records, but if a dissolution or death occurred in another county, applicants will have to bring the documents with them.

Voots reminded applicants that they have to wait a day to enter into a civil union after obtaining a license. For instance, anyone who gets a license on Wednesday will have to wait until Thursday to enter into a civil union. The wait doesn’t have to be 24 hours, just the next calendar day.

Also, while Illinois residents can marry with parental permission at ages 16 or 17, anyone entering into a civil union must be 18.

As of Friday, Voots said she would be charging only $4 for the licenses. The General Assembly didn’t spell out the license fees when they approved the civil union bill. Voots said the civil union licenses should cost the same as marriage licenses, $23. But the General Assembly has to act before the end of the legislative session on Tuesday for that to happen.

Voots said all the information pertaining to civil licenses is on her website, www.thewill
countyclerk.com. Anyone with questions can also call 815-740-4626.

Licenses also can be acquired at the clerk’s branch offices in Bolingbrook, Crete and Plainfield.

Same-sex and opposite-sex couples who enter into civil unions will be able to: make medical decisions for each other, file a lawsuit for a partner’s death, receive pension benefits if a partner dies, dissolve the relationship in court and be considered legal parents of their children. The bill was approved by the General Assembly in December and signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn on Jan. 31.

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