 Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez had also conceded that the state's ban on same-sex marriages was unconstitutional.On July 3, the Circuit Court of Cook County, Chancery Division, approved the request of two county clerks from other parts of the state, represented by the Thomas More Society, a conservative legal group, to intervene to defend the Act.On November 30, it denied requests by the Church of Christian Liberty, Grace Gospel Fellowship, and the Illinois Family Institute, opponents of same-sex marriage, to be allowed to intervene to defend the law.