Northwestern employee Elisabeth Lindsay and her partner plan to register their same-sex union, an option scheduled to become available in Cook County starting today.

“I think it’s an important step in recognizing monogamous gay relationships and working toward equal rights,” Lindsay said.

The countywide Domestic Partnership Registry — which formally kicks off with a ceremony at 8:30 a.m. — allows two adults of the same sex in a relationship of “mutual financial and emotional support” to register as domestic partners with the Cook County Clerk’s Office.

Although the newly created registry does not grant the same legal rights as marriage, it is intended to establish a legal record to make it easier for companies when extending spousal benefits to same-sex partners.

In July the Cook County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution 13-3, creating the registry for same-sex couples. Cook County joins 49 cities, eight counties and three states that already have established same-sex registries.

One of the commissioners who voted against the resolution, Cook County Commissioner Carl R. Hansen, said the registry discriminates against heterosexuals by not allowing them to register.

“If there’s any benefit for the registry, why not have registry for heterosexuals?” said Hansen, a Republican from the northwest Chicago suburbs.

Hansen said instead of creating a registry, government should focus on more important issues.

“If a guy wants to live with another guy, if a gal wants to live with another gal, let everyone live the way they want to live,” Hansen said. “They shouldn’t have any special prerogative.

“It’s a waste of government time. It’s a waste of tax money when we should be spending money for schools. It’s not a great benefit to anybody.”

Susan Abbott, an Oak Park social worker who has been signed up with an Oak Park domestic partner registry for five years, has a different view. She said same-sex registries provide symbolic and important benefits to gay couples.

“There’s little things that matter,” Abbott said. “For us to get a family membership in YMCA, it proves that we are a family. When we go to school or hospital, we have some way of legal recognition of the relationship.”

Registration will be available for couples 18 and older, in which at least one partner lives or works in Cook County. Couples must sign a legal affidavit declaring the seriousness of their relationship and prove that they share a household.

To register couples must bring valid photo ID to Cook County Clerk David Orr’s Chicago office and pay a $30 filing fee. Afterward couples will receive a document certifying their registration.

Although the topic might be controversial, the clerk’s office is not expecting problems or protesters Wednesday morning, spokesman Scott Burnham said. The office has not received complaints about the registry.

Lindsay said she will not participate in the ceremony tomorrow but plans to in the future. In addition to getting registered, Lindsay and her partner plan to go through a symbolic marriage ceremony.

Although same-sex marriages are not legal in Illinois, Lindsay said the registry helps gay and lesbian couples obtain some of the recognition that heterosexual couples have.

“Gay registry doesn’t afford us the rights that need to come with the legal institution,” she said. “It’s more of a symbolic gesture, which is not enough, but it’s a step in the right direction.”