Illinois Senate President John Cullerton: Timing is right for gay marriage

Chicago, IL - Illinois Senate President John Cullerton has said that the timing is right to approve a bill which seeks to make Illinois the 10th state to legalize gay marriage.

Cullerton, a Democrat from Chicago, made his comments Monday during a speech at the City Club of Chicago.

"We're getting more support in the public every day," he said. "I expect we will call it very early on in the session, if not in the first few weeks."

Supporters attempted to approve the legislation earlier this month during the General Assembly's brief lame-duck session.

Senator Heather Steans, the bill's champion in the Senate, said she is optimistic about the bill's prospects in the upcoming legislative session, which begins February 5.

"As I'm talking to members, people have really come along," Steans told Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks. "You know, we passed civil unions here two years ago. And the nature of the conversations I'm having with my colleagues just two years later is very different. I think there's really been a sea change of public opinion on this. Every day we see more people supporting what's fair under our laws and treating everybody the same. So, it's been very encouraging and heartening."

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