IL marriage amendment petition turned in

Same-sex marriage is illegal in Illinois, but a conservative group submitted 345,199 signatures to the State Board of Elections on Monday to put the question of amending the state Constitution to ban gay marriage on the Nov. 7 ballot. The referendum would not be binding. Gov. Rod Blagojevich said at a news conference Monday he would not vote in favor of banning gay marriage in the Constitution. Blagojevich’s Republican opponent in the gubernatorial election isn’t in favor of an amendment, either. “She supports civil union; she’s not in favor of gay marriage,” said Dave Loveday, a spokesman for Judy Baar Topinka. “She doesn’t think the amendment is necessary, because the law is already specific.” Here's the story from Tuesday's edition of the State Journal-Register.