Crunch Time on the Patriot Act



When Congress returns after the Thanksgiving Break, one of the top issues on the agenda will be renewal of parts of the USA PATRIOT Act set to expire on December 31st. It should be an interesting debate to observe. Just before the recess, the White House and the Department of the Justice Department attempted to hijack the negotiations taking place between House and Senate members attempting to reconcile bills passed in both houses to reauthorize the expiring measures. Rather than offering real reform, the “deal� that the White House and Department of Justice offered actually expanded the authority of law enforcement authorities, and did not address the key problems identified in the USA PATRIOT Act over the past four years. A courageous, bi-partisan group of legislators – including Illinois Senator Dick Durbin – promised to use every measure, including a filibuster, to oppose the measure. Let’s use this Thanksgiving Break wisely – call you Representative and Senator and ask them to support REAL reform of the PATRIOT Act! If you want to keep posted on developments in the debate over PATRIOT Act renewal, you can log onto the ACLU’s PATRIOT Act blog at http://blog.reformthepatriotact.org/.



Continuing the Fight Against Racial Profiling



The ACLU of Illinois is working with other civil liberties and civil rights organizations to press for further measures that will help fight the insidious practice of racial profiling. The ACLU recently told an Illinois Senate Committee that an analysis of data collected in the initial year of a state law designed to measure and control discriminatory law enforcement in Illinois points to the need to make the law permanent and that more information needs to be gathered. The ACLU has advanced a series of proposals that strengthen the ability of law enforcement leadership to identify evidence of racial profiling, evidence that those leaders can then act upon in an appropriate fashion. The proposals include collection of data about pedestrian stops and searches: whether a driver refuses to consent to a search of his car, whether police searches result in the discovery of contraband, whether canine sniff dogs were used and the ethnicity of those whose cars were subjected to a canine sniff. You can reach more about the proposed legislation and the ACLU’s position by going to http://www.aclu-il.org/news/press/2005/11/legislative_panel_urged_to_mak.shtml.



Quad Cities Next Site for Marriage Equality Discussion



The ACLU of Illinois and a number of other organizations are hosting a special program on marriage equality, titled Leave No Family Behind. The program takes place on Thursday, December 8th, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Johnny’s Metro Room, 1300 River Drive in Moline. The program includes same-sex couples, a religious leader, a child development expert and legal experts to discuss the everyday issues faced by same-sex couples as a result of current marriage laws. There is time for audience questions in the discussion as well, so join us if you can.



Don't Forget! Postcards from Buster to Visit Oak Park



As many parents of young children no doubt know, the program Postcards from Buster highlights the lives of real-life children. The show follows cartoon rabbit Buster Baxter as he travels through North America. An episode of the program titled “Sugartime!� explores how maple sugar is made on a Vermont farm. One of the families Buster meets on this trip is a lesbian couple and their daughter. The episode was scheduled to air nationally in February 2005 until Margaret Spellings, U.S. Secretary of Education, issued a written warning to publicly-funded PBS against distributing this episode, suggesting that “many parents would not want their young children exposed to the lifestyles portrayed in this episode.� Many PBS affiliates, including Chicago’s WTTW Channel 11, broadcast the episode in spite of this warning, though the majority decided not to air the program. On Saturday, December 10th, beginning at 10:00 a.m., the ACLU of Illinois is joining with the Human Rights Campaign and others to host a free screening and discussion of this important episode. The event will take place at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple, located at 875 Lake Street in Oak Park. If you are interested in attending, you can get more information from Carrie Maxwell at cemaxwell@yahoo.com.



For the Civil Libertarian Who Has Everything



The New Year is just around the corner. In the “fifteen minutes� between now and January 1st, you will most likely be thinking about what to get for those “hard to shop for� friends, family members and loved ones. Why not get them a membership in the ACLU? It is the perfect gift – it is affordable, it is lasting (actually, it helps preserve America’s constitutional values), and it makes you as the gift giver feel just as good as the recipient. If you want to share the Gift of Liberty with your family and friends, go http://www.aclu-il.org/gift/.