Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan will officially intervene to support the fight for marriage equality in Illinois. 

The attorney general has filed a motion to intervene in two separate lawsuits, one by Lambda Legal and one by the ACLU of Illinois, in favor of the 25 same-sex couples seeking the right to marry. As the attorney general representing the state, she can weigh in on why Illinois’s current law demoting same-sex couples to civil unions is unconstitutional.

“It’s no surprise that Attorney General Lisa Madigan, responsible for assessing the state’s position on the constitutionality of its various laws, would find the marriage ban indefensible,” said Camilla Taylor, national marriage project director for Lambda Legal, in a statement. “The marriage ban targets same-sex couples and their children for discriminatory treatment. Illinois elected officials at every level of state and federal government have come to the same conclusion that we have — that the marriage ban harms these families, and that it’s just time to end this discriminatory chapter of our history.”

This case is gaining great momentum incredibly quickly. I’m so excited to see what happens. Go Illinois!