Politics & Government
Burns, Rogina Among 7 Suburban Mayors to Support Gay Marriage
Geneva and St. Charles mayors sign letter saying "families cannot wait any longer for the state of Illinois to respect their freedom to marry."
Seven suburban Chicago mayors — including Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns and St. Charles Mayor Ray Rogina — have signed on in support of same-sex marriage.
According to an article in The Republic of Columbus, IN, and the Illinois Unites for Marriage website, seven suburban mayors signed a letter urging the Illinois House of Representatives to pass marriage equality during veto session.
“As the chief executive officers or our respective communities, our responsibility and guiding principal is to work with citizens and businesses to encourage, create, strengthen, and sustain an environment where everyone is provided an opportunity to succeed,” the letter reads. “Each day, we see same sex couples and their families who suffer because they are denied the full protections of law, protections that strengthen families. These families cannot wait any longer for the state of Illinois to respect their freedom to marry.”
Find out what's happening in St. Charleswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The mayors signing onto today’s letter include:
Mayor Kevin Burns — Geneva
Find out what's happening in St. Charleswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Mayor Bob Hausler — Plano
Mayor Stephan Pickett — Sleepy Hollow
Mayor Dale Berman — North Aurora
Mayor Ray Rogina — St. Charles
Mayor Dave Anderson — Elburn
Same-sex marriage legislation — Senate Bill 10 — was approved in the Illinois Senate in February. The bill has yet to be called for a vote in the House.
Illinois allowed civil unions in 2011.