Orr issues first marriage license of 2005

Monday, January 03, 2005

Today marked the 15th consecutive year that Cook County Clerk David Orr married the couple that obtained the first marriage license issued in the new year.

Enrique M. Gonzalez Garcia, 35, and Elizabeth Silva, 32 — both of Chicago — received the first marriage license of 2005 and agreed to have Clerk Orr marry them.

Orr is the only county clerk in Illinois with the authority to perform marriages. He asked a judge to waive the 24-hour waiting period so he could conduct the ceremony this morning.

The Clerk’s office paid the couple’s license fee and also gave the newlyweds donated gift certificates redeemable for: a weekend stay at the Chicago Hilton and Towers, dinner at Marche restaurant, and a pair of tickets to the Steppenwolf Theatre’s performance of “Intimate Apparel.”

The Cook County Clerk’s office issues all marriage licenses in Chicago and suburban Cook County. The office issued: 36,491 in 2004; 37,882 in 2003; 38,889 in 2002; 42,102 in 2001; 38,739 in 2000; and 38,283 in 1999.

For the month of December 2004, the Clerk’s office issued 2,353 licenses, up from the 2,335 licenses issued in December 2003.