CHICAGO (AP) — Mona Noriega had to hurry back to work after the brief ceremony, but she wanted it to be a festive occasion, so she handed out tiny bottles of bubble soap to workers at the Cook County Clerk’s office.

As bubbles floated through the air, Noriega, 48, and her partner of eight years, Evette Cardona, 41, entered their names in Cook County’s new Domestic Partnership Registry.

“It just seemed to be something celebratory,” Noriega said of the bubble soap.

The registration carries no legal rights, but Noriega, who is Midwest regional director of Lambda Legal, a rights group for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders, said it is at least a symbolic victory for same-sex couples.

“The main benefits are the affirmation and the emotional commitment,” she said. “We’re a very ritualistic society, and it just feels very good.”

“It also makes me feel good to have politicians recognize the importance of unions like ours,” Noriega added.

Noriega and Cardona, a senior project officer with the Polk Brothers Foundation, were among nearly 50 couples who signed the registry by noon on the first day the opportunity was offered.

“There was quite a line,” Noriega said. “I understand one couple was here at midnight, and people in the clerk’s office tell me that no one does that anymore, except for Forest Preserve picnic permits.”

Robert Castillo and John Pennycuff were the ones in line at midnight and the first to sign the registry. The Chicago residents booked a hotel room downtown and took turns standing at the head of the queue until the registry opened shortly after 8:30 a.m.

“Besides being partners in loving each other, we are also partners for social change,” Castillo said. “I think it’s important, even if it’s a small step. It’s a big day.”

While Noriega and Cardona don’t plan any wedding ceremony until an acceptable denomination begins offering full same-sex marriages, others who signed the registry said they plan a direct march to at least the symbolic altar.

Stephanie Brewer and Julie Kata, both of Chicago, plan a marriage ceremony at the Chicago Historical Society.

Before the Cook County registry began, the only government entity in Illinois operating such a program was the Village of Oak Park. A total of 66 couples have signed up under the western suburb’s registry, which is open to village residents only.

While applauding the Cook County move, Gov. Rod Blagojevich said there were no plans yet to imitate it on a statewide basis.

“I support domestic partnerships between couples that are committed to one another so the laws are applied equally when it comes to relationships, and a registry could very well be something that would help do that,” Blagojevich said. “But we’ve not really thought through the implications of that, so I’m not in a position to say right now whether that would be something the state would do.”