Powers of the USA PATRIOT Act Abused by FBI!


Over the past four years, the ACLU consistently has warned Congress that granting unchecked power - under the PATRIOT Act or other measures - the FBI and other law enforcement to gather information on Americans was an invitation to abuse. Such warnings often were met with derisive dismissals - following former Attorney General John Ashcroft's suggestion that we were pursuing "phantoms of lost liberty." Well . . . . It turns out that WE WERE RIGHT. Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Inspector General issued a report about the FBI's abuse of the power - granted in the PATRIOT Act - to issue National Security Letters (NSLs). The report showed, among other things, that the FBI regularly collected records in so-called "exigent circumstances" without being able to justify the exigency after the records were collected. You can read more about the report and the ACLU's response by going to http://www.aclu.org/safefree/nationalsecurityletters/28968prs20070309.html.



Ten Incredible Stories


The ACLU National Lesbian and Gay Rights Project recently helped launch a new website designed to advance our work for equal marriage - www.10couples.org. The site, and the stories, demonstrates clearly and directly the impact of current laws that strip legal protections from gay and lesbian couples. Take a look!



Set Your TIVO!


PBS is launching a series in April titled "America at a Crossroads" that features an ACLU of Illinois client. On Wednesday, April 18th, ACLU of Illinois client Akif Rahman is featured in an episode titled Muslims in America. Mr. Rahman, a U.S. citizen who lives near Chicago and operates his own computer software consulting business, has been detained and questions unnecessarily for long periods of time when he re-enters the United States. You can learn more about the series and the time it will air by going to http://www.pbs.org/weta/crossroads/about/.



Have You Checked out the ACLU of Illinois Blog?


The ACLU of Illinois recently launched our own blog site - ACLU Insider. You can reach to the blog through our website or by going to http://www.aclu-il.org/blog/. Go today and read the entries; there is lots of interesting information and opportunities for interaction.