Ever Wonder How You Can Make a Difference?



Join Us on April 22nd to Start -- For many people, these are frustrating days - the Congress re-approves the invasive provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act without appropriate guidelines; the President scoffs at the law and the Constitution in defending his warrantless surveillance program and the South Dakota legislature and Governor recently adopted and approved a statute banning almost all abortions, in hopes that the Supreme Court with two new Bush appointees will strike down a series of decisions upholding a woman's right to make reproductive choices for herself without government interference. In light of these and other challenges, too many persons committed to basic constitutional values withdraw still further from the civic process - believing there is nothing they can do to make things better. Do you want to make a difference? Start your work by joining us in Champaign on April 22nd for a daylong summit focused on increasing civic participation. Titled "Defending Democracy in Our America," the ACLU of Illinois Summit gives you an opportunity to meet other ACLU members from across the state and make plans for working together to make a difference now and into the future. You can learn more about the event and register by going to http://www.aclu-il.org/conference.



Detention Center Case Set for Hearing



In the past several issues of this enewsletter, we have kept you abreast of developments in our case challenging conditions at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center in Chicago. The JTDC is one of the largest juvenile detention centers in the United States, and it has been the subject of improvement efforts since 1999. Last week, we were pleased to see movement forward in the case - a federal judge set an April date for a hearing to assess conditions at the facility. The ACLU of Illinois is asking the judge in the case to appoint a manager who can oversee implementation of an improvement plan to fix problems at the facility. You can read more about the date for the hearing by going to http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0603030262mar03,1,7379045.story.



Green Light for ACLU Case on Behalf of Persons in Illinois with Developmental Disabilities



We were heartened to learn last week that a federal judge in Chicago has granted class certification in an ACLU of Illinois case challenging the lack of choices for living conditions for persons with developmental disabilities in Illinois. The ACLU of Illinois is working on this case with the major disability rights organizations in Illinois (and one from Pennsylvania) to urge the State of Illinois to allow persons with developmental disabilities to live in smaller, community-based settings. You can read the Chicago Tribune story about the granting of class certification at http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/custom/newsroom/chi-060313disabledsuit,1,1916968.story. You can read the entire press release at http://www.aclu-il.org/news/press/2006/03/federal_judge_gives_greenlight.shtml.



Calling All Volunteers!



ACLU will be hosting information tables at Silk Road Theater Project's production, Back of the Throat, during select evening shows in April and May. If you are interested in helping distribute ACLU information, please email Yesenia at ysotelo@aclu-il.org. More information about the play: Two government officials pay an Arab-American man, Khalid, a seemingly innocuous visit. What begins as a "friendly" inquiry soon devolves into a chilling, full-blown investigation of Khalid's presumed ties to terrorists. At times surreal and comic, Back of the Throat examines the ways in which facts, evidence and (mis)perceptions are used to distort the truth and how notions of cultural "otherness" impact the relationship between the accusers and the accused.



LGBT Families: Tell Us Your Story!



The ACLU of Illinois is leading the fight for marriage equality in our State. As part of this effort, we are working in an exciting collaborative effort with two other statewide groups committed to marriage equality, Lambda Legal and Equality Illinois. We need your personal stories of same-sex commitment! Please let us know how our government's limited definition of marriage affect you and your family. For questions or to contribute, please contact Jordan at jlong@aclu-il.org or call and leave a message at the front desk: 312-201-9740 x300.