Every American cherishes the civil liberties promised by our Constitution. However, the words alone do not make these rights a reality. We live better lives and are a better country because of the ACLU. 
The ACLU protects freedom of speech, assembly, association, petition, and press. We often defend messages we vehemently disagree with. Most famously, we represented the neo-Nazis who sought to hold a rally in Skokie in the 1970s. More recently, we advocated for the right of a high school student to wear to school a tee-shirt stating “be happy not gay.” Over time, the best way to protect speech that we like is to protect speech we don’t like. We work to ensure that leafleting and demonstrations are accommodated on government properties, such as Chicago’s federal plaza, the McCormick Place convention center, and sidewalks and parks throughout the state. We protect the rights of government employees and contractors to support, or refrain from supporting, political candidates. We oppose spying by federal and local agencies on groups and individuals based on their lawful political and religious beliefs, practices, and associations.
Featured Items
Victory for First Amendment Right to Audio Record Police
Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois in a case involving Illinois’ controversial eavesdropping law. The ACLU is... Continue reading
ACLU Report: Know Your Right to Protest in Chicago
Download the full report as a pdf.(184 kb)Descargue el informe en Español. (PDF) Visit our Protesting-in-Chicago mobile website. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting... Continue reading
Slate: Recording Police Making Arrests & the Outrageous Law that Makes it a Felony
Slate‘s Dahlia Lithwick posted an article about the Illinois Eavesdropping Act, which prohibits citizens from recording public officials, including police, performing their public duties in a public place. The ACLU... Continue reading
Standing up for the First Amendment in Chicago
Protests and demonstrations often are aimed at an audience that would strongly prefer not to hear the message. For example, the First Amendment protects the right of labor unions to... Continue reading
ACLU v. Alvarez
UPDATE 5/8/2012: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled for the ACLU of Illinois in a case involving Illinois’ controversial eavesdropping law and the right to audio... Continue reading
