Veto Session Set to Begin


The Illinois General Assembly convenes the 2005 Veto Session next week, on Tuesday, October 25th. The session runs for three days next week and three more days the first week of November. One of the issues scheduled for debate during the Veto session is a proposal - supported by the ACLU of Illinois - that would create a new, independent Department of Juvenile Justice in Illinois. Today, all juveniles incarcerated by the State are under the care of the Department of Corrections - which has responsibility for housing 44,000 adult prisoners and 1,600 juveniles. Because the DOC directs most of its programs toward the overwhelming number of adult prisoners, juveniles fail to get appropriate programs and services that would benefit youth. The results are sad - Illinois juveniles have a 46.6% recidivism rate, while our neighbors in Missouri (with a separate Department of Juvenile Justice) has a recidivism rate of less than 10%. If you want to keep up on developments with this legislation or learn about other civil liberties issues in the Illinois General Assembly, please visit http://www.aclu-il.org/legislative/alerts.shtml.


The New Supreme Court


The ACLU of Illinois Young Associates Group is hosting a discussion panel on "Civil Liberties and the Supreme Court." The program, scheduled for Wednesday, November 2nd, in the offices of Goldberg Kohn - located at 55 East Monroe Street, Suite 3700. The program will feature ACLU of Illinois Executive Director Colleen Connell, University of Chicago Law School Professor Adam Cox, University of Virginia Law School Professor Anup Malani, and John McGinnis, Professor at the Northwestern University School of Law. If you are interested in attending, the Young Associates ask you to RSVP to Georgia.wisniewski@goldbergkohn.com or call 312-836-7261.


Speaking of the Supreme Court


The ACLU is joining with Planned Parenthood Federation of America in one of the biggest cases before the Supreme Court of the United States this term. The case, Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood, will be argued on Wednesday, November 30. At issue in the case is a critical issue - whether states can adopt restrictions on women's access to abortion that do not make exceptions for medical emergencies when a woman's health is at risk. To read more about this critical case and get a link to the ACLU's brief visit http://www.aclu.org/ReproductiveRights/ReproductiveRights.cfm?ID=19240&c=143.


Suburban Forum to Focus on Dangerous Sex Education Programs


In recent E-newsletters we have discussed the ACLU of Illinois concern about dangerous, misleading sex education being taught in the State of Illinois under the guise of "abstinence-only-until-marriage" programs. These programs give our children inaccurate and purposely false information about sexual health issues, leaving thousands of youth at-risk to disease and pregnancy. Our allies at the Illinois Campaign for Responsible Sex Education and the Sierra Club is sponsoring a program on this important topic in Chicago's Northwest suburbs. The program, schedule for Wednesday, October 26th, will begin at 7:00 p.m. in Room A-238 at Harper College in Palatine. For more information visit http://www.responsiblesexed.org.


Leave No Family Behind Rolls onto Carbondale


The next program in a series of events around the state looking at marriage equality will be held next week, Tuesday, October 25th, beginning at 7:00 p.m., in the Illinois Room at the Southern Illinois University campus in Carbondale. The program includes a panel of experts who will discuss the real-life obstacles faced by gay and lesbian couples in our state. We also will look at the question of marriage equality from a religious perspective, a legal context and from the viewpoint of a child development expert. We hope to see you in Carbondale.


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