Tortured Signing
Earlier this week, President Bush signed into law the Military Commissions Act of 2006, a measure that had been the subject of a great deal of debate in Congress last month. The American Civil Liberties Union and a great number of groups expressed real concern over the constitutionality of this legislation. Among other concerns, the bill permits the indefinite detention of persons in the United States, and allows individuals to be punished - even put to death - on the basis of hearsay evidence. In response to the signing, the ACLU National Office published a very compelling full-page advertisement in the Washington Post. You can see that advertisement by going to http://www.aclu.org/safefree/detention/27085leg20061017.html. If you would like to read more about the ACLU's reaction to the signing and position on the bill, go to http://www.aclu.org/safefree/detention/27091prs20061017.html.



An Invitation to Spend a Day in Wisconsin for Fairness
Our neighbors in Wisconsin are facing an anti-gay constitutional amendment in the November election. The proposal would deny permanently civil unions and marriage for lesbian and gay couples, and threatens other legal protections such as domestic partner benefits. Organizations working for LGBT rights in Illinois, including the ACLU of Illinois, organized volunteer days in Milwaukee for the following two Saturdays - where Illinois residents committed to fairness and relationship recognition can help our friends to the north.

The first canvass day is Saturday, October 21st from 12:00 noon to 4:30 p.m., and volunteers will gather at the Greendale Community UCC, located at 60115 Clover Lane in Milwaukee.

On Saturday, October 28th, Illinois volunteers again will canvass from 12:00 noon to 4:30 p.m., this time meeting at the West Granville Presbyterian Church, located at 6935 North 107th Street in Milwaukee.

To sign up or to get directions, please visit http://www.fairwisconsingroups.com and click on "Milwaukee" or email nick.halsted@fairwisconsin.com.



Debating Debates
The ACLU remains committed to protecting freedom of speech - even for political candidates! Last week, Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn phoned to ask if candidates for major public offices could be compelled to debate. The question arose because of Mr. Zorn's frustration over the lack of debates by the state's gubernatorial candidates. ACLU of Illinois Director of Communications Ed Yohnka demonstrated that sometime the best answer to a question is not the most articulate. Asked if candidates could be forced to debate, Yohnka responded, "Ummm . . . . . no." You can read the entire column at http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ericzorn/chi-0610120047oct12,1,609386.column?coll=chi-news-col.



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Do you ever read a story in the E-Newsletter and think - I should forward that on to . . . . . . Well, we love to hear those stories, email us at ACLUofIllinois@aclu-il.org. More important, we hope you will encourage friends, neighbors, colleagues, family members and others to sign up to be par t of our statewide email list. It is the most efficient and cost-effective way for us to communicate with members and supporters and to keep folks updated on breaking news in civil liberties. Your contacts can sign up at http://www.aclu-il.org.