The Bilerico Project | Daily experiments in LGBTQ

Hundreds of couples lined up today outside of county clerks' offices throughout the Illinois as the state's civil unions bill took effect. Now, all same-sex couples, as well as opposite-sex couples, are eligible to receive civil union licenses. Illinois is now the sixth state to allow civil unions for same-sex couples, and in the coming months, similar bills in Hawaii and Delaware will take effect.

The Illinois bill, signed into law in February, grants same-sex couples many of the same rights that married, opposite-sex couples have.

While couples can apply for their civil union licenses today, they must wait until tomorrow to hold a formal ceremony. Tomorrow in Millennium Park, 30 couples plan to enter into civil unions, with Chicago's mayor, Rahm Emanuel, present.

The Chicago Tribune features more stories about couples enjoying the new bill:

In Cook County, Janean Watkins and Lakeesha Harris camped overnight outside the Daley Center to be the first in line as the state's new civil-unions law kicked in.

"It's historic," said Watkins, who has been with Harris for 10 years. "We wanted to be first. We wanted to make a statement. For us, for our kids. It really means something."

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