On May 9, local lesbian couple Judith Markowitz and Susan Franz marked their near-three-decade-long relationship by registering as domestic partners. Below is Markowitz’s account of what transpired the night before—and the day of—the registration. Picture: Judith Markowitz (right) and Susan Franz. Photo courtesy of Markowitz
BY JUDITH MARKOWITZ
Nothing’s changed—but everything’s changed.
We walked out of the County Building filled with wonder and joy and holding our certificate. But, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s back up.
In March we attended a community concert that had a silent-auction fundraiser. One of the items was a two-night stay at Chicago’s famed Ambassador East Hotel and supper in its equally renowned Pump Room Restaurant. ‘Hmm,’ we thought, ‘What a great way to celebrate our 28th anniversary on May 9.’ So we schemed our way to the highest bid.
Fast forward to late afternoon May 8, when we checked into the Ambassador East’s third-floor corner suite and were off to a very good start. This well-appointed grande dame has all the charms of her Continental predecessors. We dressed for supper, then strolled to one of our favorite downtown restaurants, Ben Pao. After a leisurely and sumptuous dinner, we ambled to a nearby club, Pops for Champagne, to take in the show by Tammy McCann, a rising jazz vocalist, and her trio.
By midnight we were safely tucked in and dreaming away our last night as unattached singles. The morning that waited would forever change our public standing—as much as Illinois and Cook County laws now permit.
Surely, no brides have ever experienced any more thrilling anticipation before their rituals! We awoke and dressed in our tuxedoes and patent leathers. Spiffed to the fullest extent, we grabbed a taxi and, clutching each other’s hand, soon found ourselves at County Building. Although the space for domestic-partner registration is shared by those seeking marriage certificates and other official appointments, this Friday morning it was entirely ours. There, after paperwork and fees were exchanged, we were granted certificate number 1297. At last, after 28 years of voluntary companionship laced with two lives’ triumphs, elation, tedium, spontaneity, stress and heartbreak, we were publicly acknowledged to belong together.
Our registrant agreed to capture the ‘Kodak moment,’ and a patient bystander outside the building indulged our request for one more photo. And, we took a picture from our dinner at the Pump Room to illustrate how our joy continued into the evening.
Nothing has changed—our committed relationship still lacks the full sanction that marriage conveys. We cannot file joint taxes, we won’t have beneficiary provisions to each other’s Social Security and, in too many other ways, we continue as ‘second-class’ citizens. Separate but equal is only separate.
Everything has changed—there is now a public record of our devotion to each other. For any and all who care to look, we are identified as ‘partners in life’. After 28 years, it’s a beginning!