RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, was reintroduced into the Illinois General Assembly on January 10, 2013 by Representative Greg Harris and Senator Heather Steans; and
WHEREAS, the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act seeks to allow same-sex couples the right of legalized marriage in Illinois; and
WHEREAS, due to progressive forces of change, our society has experienced an increased tolerance and acceptance of same-sex couples that in times past would have resulted in severe marginalization; and
WHEREAS, same-sex couples should be afforded the equal right to marriage under the law; and
WHEREAS, in January of 2011, the Illinois General Assembly approved civil unions by same-sex couples, with the law taking effect on June 1, 2011; and
WHEREAS, many business leaders from diverse industries such as financial planning, energy, manufacturing, advertising, and publishing agree that recognizing same-sex marriage would provide the City of Chicago and State of Illinois with increased economic advantage; and
WHEREAS, currently the states of New York, Washington, Massachusetts, and Maryland have legalized same-sex marriage, and have widely benefited from this action both socially and economically; and
WHEREAS, in the Midwest, Iowa is currently the only state to have recognized same-sex marriage; and the state of Minnesota currently has legislation pending before its state legislature; and
WHEREAS, legalizing same-sex marriage would attract a global workforce to Illinois and help strengthen our local business community; and
WHEREAS, according to research compiled by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, the legalization of same-sex marriage would generate between $39 and $72 million dollars in revenue for Illinois businesses and bring an additional $4.5 million to $8 million dollars in new sales and lodging tax revenues over the next three years; and
WHEREAS, the family unit, no matter what its make up, is the stre...
Click here for full text