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May 13, 2005
ACLU of Illinois E-News
5.13.05
Special Message About the Debate in Washington Over Renewal of the Patriot Act
Just yesterday we learned that the timeline for debate over renewal of some of the most controversial provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act has been accelerated dramatically. Legislation either renewing these intrusive provisions - including allowing "sneak and peek" searches of homes and businesses and allowing the government broad access to personal records, including library and bookstore records - or modifying the Patriot Act could start moving in the Judiciary Committees of the U.S. House and Senate as soon as Memorial Day. It appears that the goal now is to have the legislation completed in time for the September 11th anniversary.
We need your help! Now is the time for all ACLU of Illinois members and supporters to contact their representatives in Congress and urge them to support reforms to the Patriot Act. Legislation has been introduced that would fix the worst flaws in the Patriot Act - the Security and Freedom Ensured Act (SAFE). Fortunately, our two Illinois Senators support the legislation - Senator Dick Durbin is a lead sponsor and Senator Barack Obama is a co-sponsor. In the House, Representative Jan Schakowsky, Representative Luis Guitierrez and Representative Tim Johnson are co-sponsors of the legislation.
Wondering what you can do?
Here are three easy steps to become part of the debate to fix the Patriot Act:
- Contact your Representative and Urge him/her to support or co-sponsor the SAFE Act. You can reach your member of Congress by sending a free fax from your desktop - just click on https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&id=157. Or, you can call your Member of Congress' office directly and tell a staff member that you want the Representative to co-sponsor SAFE. If you do not have your Member of Congress' phone number handy, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago has a full listing at http://www.aidschicago.org/pdf/advocacy/IL_congress.pdf.
Please make these calls and send the faxes today!
- Meet with your Member of Congress and ask them their position on the Patriot Act and SAFE. We know that it often is difficult to get a meeting with a member of Congress. Most members, however, keep an active schedule in their home district on the weekends and during recesses of the House. Find out where your Member of Congress is going to be - at a town hall meeting or other public forum - and attend the event. Ask them for a position statement on the Patriot Act and urge him/her to co-sponsor the SAFE Act. If you are not sure what question to ask, contact us at ACLUofIllinois@aclu-il.org. We can give you some sample questions.
- Write to your newspaper. Members of Congress and their staff read local newspapers to see what constituents are saying. Send a letter to the newspaper today urging your Congressman to become a co-sponsor of SAFE. If you need some help with a letter to the editor, please contact us at ACLUofIllinois@aclu-il.org. We can give you sample letters and ideas.
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