Illinois Civil Unions: 1,600 and Counting

More than 1,600 Illinois couples were issued civil union licenses during the month of June, according to Equality Illinois.

The state LGBT group contacted county clerks throughout Illinois to determine the figure; 83 of the 102 counties had issued civil union licenses, the group reports.

Signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn in January, the civil unions legislation went into effect June 1 and provides most of the rights and responsibilities of marriage -- with some significant caveats.

Last month the Illinois Department of Revenue announced that civil union couples would not be allowed to jointly file their state tax returns, a decision that Equality Illinois said was at odds with the text of the law, which reads, "A party to a civil union is entitled to the same legal obligations, responsibilities, protections, and benefits as are afforded or recognized by the law of Illinois to spouses, whether they derive from statute, administrative rule, policy, common law, or any other source of civil or criminal law."

Read more on Illinois civil unions at The Huffington Post.