Census: Same-Sex Households Up 40 Percent in Illinois

U.S. Census data revealed that the number of gay and lesbian households in Illinois has increased dramatically, according to a Chicago Tribune story.

The number of same-sex households is up 40 percent over the last decade according to U.S. Census data, released Thursday.

The Tribune story attributes the growth to an increase in acceptance of gay and lesbian couples, as evidenced by laws allowing civil unions, as well as the portrayal of gay characters in movies and television. Earlier this year, Illinois enacted a civil union law that allows same-sex couples to marry.

The Tribune provides a map that pinpoints the distribution of same-sex houses in Chicago and suburbs.

Of the 9,544 households in the village of Lake in the Hills, census data reported 18 male-male households and, 39 female-female households.