ACLU Case Challenges Dysfunctional Terrorist Screening System


Imagine coming home from a trip abroad. As you exit on the jet way, you notice Customs personnel checking passports. When they get to your passport, the search stops. You are taken away, held in a room, questioned for hours and - in the worst case - you are shackled to a chair by guards who yell that you are "armed and dangerous." Seems like a bad Spielberg movie. In fact, it is a reality for too many Americans. The ACLU of Illinois recently expanded a lawsuit filed last year. The action challenges the flawed and problematic system of screening persons entering the U.S. to determine if they pose a threat to the nation. The Department of Justice Inspector General recently noted that the terrorist screening database "over-classified" some persons (suggesting these individuals were a threat when they were not) and "misidentified thousands of others. The result is that these individuals face difficulties when they re-enter the country. You can read more about our case and about the individuals we represent - as well as their harrowing stories - at http://www.aclu-il.org/news/press/2006/06/us_citizens_call_on_federal_go_1.shtml.



Supreme Court Rejects Bush Administration Overreach on Military Commissions


As the Supreme Court term came to a close on Thursday, June 29th, the Supreme Court of the United States handed a stinging defeat to the Bush Administration. In a 5 to 3 decision, the Court ruled that the President's "military tribunals" set up to try individuals held at Guantánamo, tribunals not authorized by Congress or contemplated by the Geneva Conventions were not lawful. You can reach more about this important decision and the first term of the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts by going to http://www.aclu.org/scotus/2005/26053prs20060629.html.



Don't Let Lawmakers Hijack the Voting Rights Act


For some months, Congress has been moving in a bipartisan way to renew three important provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 set to expire at the end of next year. Earlier this Spring, the measure moved through the House Judiciary Committee by a vote of 33 to 1 - a signal that it would move through the House with ease. Last week, however, a small band of Southern Republican Representatives stood up in a Republican caucus and hijacked the bill - leading House leadership to pull the measure off the House calendar. We hope that during the 4th of July recess, you will reach out to your representative in Congress and urge him/her to support renewal of this critical act. To learn more, please go to http://www.votingrights.org/.



Volunteers, Show Your PRIDE in the ACLU!


Thank you to all those who volunteered to march with the ACLU of Illinois at the 2006 Gay Pride Parade. ACLU will host a booth at Northalsted MarketDays on August 5 and 6, and we are looking for volunteers. Volunteers chat with visitors to the booth, distribute ACLU information, sell memberships and collect email addresses. If you can chat about the ACLU for a couple of hours, email Yesenia at ysotelo@aclu-il.org.