New U.S. Census Bureau figures show the number of Illinois households run by same-sex couples has jumped nearly 42 percent in the last decade.
That's from 22,887 in 2000 to 32,469 last year.
The trend in Illinois mirrors those nationwide and that of the data released recently on neighboring state Missouri. Experts and advocates say social attitudes toward same-sex couples are changing.
Also, over the last decade Illinois has passed several laws for gay rights. Most recently, the state approved same-sex civil unions, which give gay couples many of the same rights as married couples.
The census data released late Wednesday shows a 53 percent jump in female couples since 2000.
In 2000, most of the couples were male - 12,155 compared with 10,732 female couples. But last year there were 16,416 female couples compared with 16,053 male couples.
