In response to the recent California marriage decision, openly gay Alderman Tom Tunney, 44th Ward, recently introduced an amendment to the Chicago’s domestic-partnership ordinance.
The amendment would modify Chicago’s domestic partnership benefit ordinance for city employees in order to allow registered couples to maintain their benefits if they legally marry elsewhere. Tunney introduced this technical amendment in light of the recent California Supreme Court decision allowing same-sex marriages.
If passed, the amendment would allow the partner of a city employee to keep his or her benefits if they marry in another jurisdiction. The current ordinance doesn’t allow this because it assumes a city employee can’t legally marry a same-sex partner.
In a press release, Tunney said, ‘Many same-sex couples have and will continue to travel to other states and jurisdictions to be legally married. It is important that we continue to maintain the benefits of all same-sex City employees as other states modify their laws in regard to marriage.’
Lambda Legal applauded the introduction of Tunney’s ordinance amendment. In a statement, Lambda Legal Midwest Regional Office staff attorney Jim Madigan said, ‘As couples travel to other states and countries to get married, we must be sure that they don’t lose their employment benefits here in Chicago.
‘…Now that same-sex couples are able to legally marry one another in other jurisdictions, the City needed to update its language.’