CHICAGO (AP) – Illinois is ahead of some states but behind others on the path toward creating a health insurance exchange, a cornerstone of President Barack Obama's health care law.

Obama's home state plans to partner with the federal government to run a health insurance exchange beginning in 2014, the first year for coverage. State officials submitted their blueprint for that partnership Friday.

That puts Illinois among a group of seven states planning to join with Washington to run an exchange where consumers and small businesses can shop online for the best deals on health insurance. Sixteen other states, including California and New York, want to build their own exchanges, and many other states haven't decided what to do or are deferring to the federal government to run their exchanges. States now have until Dec. 14 to tell the federal government their plans.