With the Bill of Rights as its starting point, the ACLU is a principled organization that guides us in rationalizing our relationships with each other and with the state. 
Featured Case
Lazaro and Matos v. Orr
On behalf of nine Illinois couples seeking recognition for their shared love and commitment, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Illinois have filed a lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of Illinois' law that denies gay and lesbian couples the freedom to marry.
Issue(s): LGBT RightsCANA v. City of Chicago
The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois filed a lawsuit in October of 2011 to challenge what had long been known across the City of Chicago – namely, that Chicago... Continue reading
Issue(s): Police Oversight, Racial JusticeCatholic Charities v. DCFS
The ACLU of Illinois has intervened in a case challenging Catholic Charities’ policy of providing adoption and foster care services on behalf of the Illinois Department of Children and Family... Continue reading
Issue(s): Children's Rights, LGBT RightsGrey v. Hasbrouck
(Original case name: Grey v. Arnold) No document is more fundamental to identity than a birth certificate. We all want a birth certificate that reflects who we are, and allows... Continue reading
Issue(s): LGBT RightsJimmy Doe v. Cook County
We are actively monitoring and enforcing a federal court settlement in this class action lawsuit, which requires the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center to provide safe and clean living... Continue reading
Issue(s): Children's Rights, Criminal Justice ReformColbert v. Quinn
The RBF/ACLU of Illinois and other advocacy organizations filed a third lawsuit against the State of Illinois for violation of the Americans with Disability Act, the Rehabilitation Act and Medicaid... Continue reading
Issue(s): Rights of Persons with DisabilitiesLigas v. Maram
(now Ligas v. Hamos) The RBF/ACLU of Illinois is collaborating with other advocacy organizations in this class action lawsuit on behalf of the thousands of individuals who are needlessly institutionalized... Continue reading
Issue(s): Rights of Persons with DisabilitiesFields v. Raemisch
(now Fields v. Smith, formerly Sundstrom v. Frank) We are working with the ACLU of Wisconsin, the National LGBT Rights Project and Lambda Legal on behalf of two transgender prisoners... Continue reading
Issue(s): Criminal Justice Reform, LGBT RightsKirk v. Arnold
Victoria Kirk and Karissa Rothkopf were denied their request to correct the gender on their birth certificate by the Illinois Department of Vital Records, even though they have completed general... Continue reading
Issue(s): LGBT RightsCity of Chicago v. St. John’s Evangelical Church
The ACLU of Illinois has filed an amicus brief in a case involving a challenge the expansion of runways at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Playing this video will place long-term... Continue reading
Issue(s): Religious LibertySherman v. Koch
(formerly Sherman v. Township High School District 214) We are amici in a case filed by the Sherman family of Buffalo Grove, against their local public high school and the... Continue reading
Issue(s): Free Speech, Religious LibertyB.H. v. McEwen
Lawyers for the RBF/ACLU of Illinois continue to monitor our Consent Decree designed to improve care and services for children in the custody of the Illinois Department of Children and... Continue reading
Issue(s): Children's RightsKhorammi v. Rolince
Farid Khorrami, a lawful U.S. immigrant (and now, a U.S. citizen), filed suit seeking damages against FBI agents for months of unjustified detention and abusive physical treatment immediately following the... Continue reading
Issue(s): Immigration, National SecurityTerkel v. AT&T
Update 8-31-11: ACLU of Illinois is in the 9th Court of Appeals in Seattle this week for an appeal in Terkel v. AT&T. Learn More. The RBF/ACLU of Illinois represents... Continue reading
Issue(s): Government Surveillance, National Security, PrivacyCummins v. Illinois
The RBF/ACLU represents a group of thirty (30) physicians as amicus curiae in a case before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals challenging a previous State of Illinois policy excluding... Continue reading
Issue(s):Morr-Fitz v. Blagojevich
The ACLU of Illinois is participating actively in a lawsuit raising the fundamental question of whether a private, for-profit business should be permitted to discriminate against some customers on the basis of the proprietor's religious beliefs.
Issue(s): Reproductive RightsACLU v. ISP
In September, the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois asked a state court in Chicago to compel the Illinois State Police (ISP) to turn over records about the Illinois Statewide... Continue reading
Issue(s): Government Surveillance, National Security, Open Government, Police Oversight, PrivacyACLU v. White
The ACLU of Illinois is challenging a 2009 amendment to the Illinois Lobbyist Registration Act that increased registration fees from $350 to $1,000 for each person who lobbies and for... Continue reading
Issue(s): Free SpeechACLU v. Alvarez
Playing this video will place long-term YouTube and Google cookies on your computer. Learn more. Please see You Tube’s privacy statement on their website and Google’s privacy statement on theirs... Continue reading
Issue(s): Free Speech, Police OversightWilliams v. Quinn
The RBF/ACLU of Illinois and other advocacy organizations are representing individuals in large nursing homes for the mentally ill in this groundbreaking litigation. Playing this video will place long-term YouTube... Continue reading
Issue(s): Rights of Persons with DisabilitiesMiller v. AIG
In February 2005, in the case Miller v. American Infertility Group of Illinois, a Cook County Circuit Court Judge ruled that a fertilized egg never implanted in a woman’s uterus... Continue reading
Issue(s): Reproductive Rights, Women's RightsHope Clinic v. Adams
For more than thirty years, the ACLU of Illinois has worked in the courts to block enforcement of dangerous, mandatory parental involvement laws for young women seeking to terminate an... Continue reading
Issue(s): Reproductive Rights, Women's Rights