linguistic:paraphrasing, information:highlighting, structural:scholar_edition, stylistic:style_transfer, stylistic:tone
Illinois

On December 1, 2010, the Illinois state senate passed SB1716 – the "Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act" – in a 32–24–1 vote, just one day after the Illinois House of Representatives did the same in a 61–52–2 vote. On January 31, 2011, Illinois state Governor Pat Quinn signed SB1716 into law, establishing civil unions for same-sex and opposite-sex couples. The new law came into effect on June 1, 2011. The provision allowing opposite-sex couples to establish a civil union effectively doubles as a tool for widowed seniors to keep survivor's benefits from a marriage while gaining marital rights at the state level with another partner.