Report: More than 5,000 same-sex marriages in Illinois

CHICAGO — A survey indicates thousands of same-sex couples are marrying in Illinois.

In a news release, Equality Illinois reports that a survey of all 102 Illinois counties revealed that at least 3,274 marriage licenses have been issued and another 1,694 civil unions were converted to marriages.

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The group also found that after the Illinois Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act went into effect last month, the same sex-marriages performed in other states, Washington, D.C., and other countries were recognized in Illinois as marriages.

Not surprisingly, Cook County had more marriages or conversions than any other county. But the marriages and conversions were reported all across the state, with only nine counties saying they didn’t record any.

Another five counties did not respond to the survey.