 On February 21, 2014, a U. S. District Court judge ruled that same-sex couples in Cook County could marry immediately and need not wait for the law to take effect on June 1.On February 26, 2014, Champaign County clerk officials, citing the Cook County ruling, began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.An opinion by the state Attorney General on March 4 announced that the ruling could apply to any county clerk who chose to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.