ILLINOIS: Cook County Attorney Won't Defend Against Same-Sex Marriage Suit

The governor, the Attorney General, and now the state attorney of Cook County all support same-sex marriage in Illinois.

Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez’s office says she’ll submit a filing Thursday that indicates she agrees with several parts of two lawsuits challenging the same sex marriage ban in Illinois, in a move that signals another legal victory for proponents of same-sex marriage. Alvarez's office said it "will admit the salient allegations within the complaint and concede that the equal protection clause of the Illinois Constitution prohibits discrimination in the issuance of marriage licenses based upon sex or sexual orientation." "We are in agreement with the plaintiffs that Illinois laws that prohibit same sex marriage are unconstitutional. We believe the plaintiffs are correct in their assertion that the Illinois Constitution upholds marriage equality for same sex couples just as it does for opposite sex couples," the statement said.

Expect anti-gay groups to file to defend against the suit themselves.

UPDATE: The Thomas More Society is furious and says they will launch an attempt to intervene.

"We are disappointed in the Cook County State's Attorney's office for not defending this valid law, passed with broad bipartisan support in the General Assembly. While the plaintiff couples in this case are from hundreds of miles outside of Chicago, Lambda Legal and the ACLU sued only the Cook County Clerk and excluded from the case the local clerks for these couples. Today's announcement by State's Attorney Anita Alvarez makes it clear that this lawsuit was an 'inside job' from the beginning, a crass political move to force same sex marriage on all Illinoisans without providing the residents of the other 101 counties an opportunity to be heard. The Thomas More Society is preparing legal papers to defend the law and prevent this collusive end run around the will of the people of Illinois and their General Assembly."