ACLU Helps Studs Take on AT&T


On May 22nd, the ACLU of Illinois acted on behalf of six prominent clients, including iconic author Studs Terkel, challenging AT&T for divulging the personal phone records of millions of customers to the National Security Agency. The sharing of the records was first reported in USA Today on May 11th. In addition to Mr. Terkel, the other plaintiffs in the case include: Barbara Flynn Currie, Majority Leader of the Illinois House of Representatives; Rabbi Gary Gerson of Oak Park Temple; Professor Diane Geraghty, Director of the Civitas ChildLaw Center at Loyola University School of Law, Chicago; James Montgomery, former Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago; and, Dr. Quinten Young, a physician and advocate for health care reform. The lawsuit alleges that AT&T violated the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. That law prohibits any entity providing "an electronic communication service" from divulging the records of customers to governmental agencies. You can read more about the lawsuit, and see photos from the May 22nd news conference, by going to http://www.aclu-il.org/news/press/2006/05/studs_terkel_other_prominent_c.shtml.



Want to Volunteer for Fairness?


As many readers of the E-Newsletter know, the Illinois Family Institute has filed petitions calling for an advisory referendum to be placed on the November 2006 Illinois ballot that would urge our General Assembly to amend the state constitution so as to define "marriage" as between one man and one woman. A group of concerned individuals and organizations from across Illinois have joined together to defeat this referendum. These individuals and groups have formed a committee called "Fair Illinois." As Fair Illinois gears up to oppose and defeat the referendum on the November ballot, they are going through the traditional process of determining and verifying that the IFI has presented enough valid signatures to advance the issue onto the ballot. Because the ACLU of Illinois has a strong, historic commitment to insuring equal rights for persons in the LGBT community, the ACLU of Illinois will take responsibility for one day of volunteers as part of this process. We need to turn out volunteers on Saturday, June 3rd, at the County Building located at 69 West Washington in downtown Chicago. We need volunteers for shifts that begin at 8:30 a.m. until 12:00 noon or 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. If you can join us, please contact K.T. Sullivan at ktsullivan@aclu-il.org and let her know when we can count on you. ACLU of Illinois members often ask how they can "make a difference" on the issues that matter. Join us on June 3rd and you'll see that making a difference can be rewarding and fun.



Good News from Downstate


A recent change in the housing policy at Illinois State University (ISU) - facilitated by ACLU of Illinois action - is part of positive trend in advancing equality for lesbian and gay students in committed, personal relationships. The ISU policy, which becomes effective for the Fall 2006 Semester, allows gay and lesbian students who have committed life partners to reside together in university family housing. Because same-gender couples may not marry under Illinois law, they previously were not admitted to family housing reserved for "married" couples. The change in ISU housing policy, authorized by University President C. Al Bowman, builds on the University's decision to expand health insurance coverage for domestic partners of ISU employees and sends a positive message of inclusion to all lesbian and gay members of the ISU community. The decision by ISU to make the change follows receipt of a letter from ACLU LGBT Rights Project Director John Knight, pointing out the inequity of the previous policy. You can read more about ISU's decision and see the ACLU letter at http://www.aclu-il.org/news/press/2006/05/aclu_hails_new_housing_policy.shtml.



The Buzz on Student Blogs


If you have been reading the newspaper, listening to radio news or watching television of late, you'll know that there has been a lot of "buzz" over student blogs. It seems that wherever one turns, there are stories about school officials who are seeking to punish students for commentary they make on personal websites outside of school. Last week, a suburban Chicago high school district adopted a policy that permits school officials to discipline students engaged in extracurricular activities for any "inappropriate" activity on a personal website. The ACLU of Illinois weighed into this debate, expressing concern about the vagueness of the term "inappropriate," and raising a concern that students could be disciplined for constitutionally protected First Amendment expression or be chilled in expressing views about activities inside their school. You can read our full statement at http://www.aclu-il.org/news/press/2006/05/aclu_responds_to_school_policy.shtml.



Show Your PRIDE in the ACLU


The Chicago Pride Parade will take place on Sunday, June 25th. We always have a great time, and everyone is welcome. All ACLU marchers receive a FREE ACLU T-SHIRT, water, snacks, and statue of liberty headgear! The parade assembles on Halsted street, south of Belmont, and we kick off between 11 and noon. The atmosphere is electric, and the people are always fun, especially the ACLU crowd. Interested? Just email ysotelo@aclu-il.org. (To see a picture from last year's parade, visit http://www.aclu-il.org/takeaction/events/2006/06/june_25_2006_chicago_pride_par.shtml)