Overwhelming votes in both the Illinois House and Illinois Senate will help ensure that college newspapers across the State of Illinois enjoy free press protections offered by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, even if those newspapers are funded by college or university funds, according to the ACLU of Illinois. The response came after Thursday's 112-2 vote in the Illinois House approving Senate Bill 729, the College Campus Press Act. The Illinois Senate concurred yesterday with the House approved measure by a vote of 53 to 0.

The College Campus Press Act restores critical First Amendment rights that college journalist enjoyed prior to a 2005 court ruling. If the Governor signs the law, college student journalists can investigate and publish articles for their newspapers without fear that college officials will censor or bar publication of their work. School officials at the elementary and secondary educational level retain the capacity to review and approve editorial content of student publications under Senate Bill 729.

"Now in Illinois, college journalists at public universities will be given the same opportunities to write openly about relevant issues," said State Senator Susan Garrett, the measures primary sponsor. "By passing Senate Bill 729, we have sent a message that journalists writing for college newspapers should not be treated differently and that the freedoms of the press are essential if we are to adhere to true openness in college newspapers."

"We are pleased by the overwhelming response to this proposal," said Edwin C. Yohnka, Director of Communications and Public Policy for the ACLU of Illinois. "College aged students must be responsible for the content of their material, but they should not be subject to censorship and review by college personnel who may object to articles that reflect negatively on the school's administration or operations."

College students enjoyed free press rights prior to a 2005 decision in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. In a controversial decision, the Court severely undercut the independence of student-run press by applying a previous court ruling about high school newspapers to student-run college publications. If the College Campus Press Act becomes law, junior college and four-year college campus' newspapers cannot be censored or even barred from publishing articles on topics that displease the administration.

"Passage of Senate Bill 729 is a major step in restoring the free speech and free press rights of student journalists on our college campuses," added the ACLU's Yohnka. "We are grateful that the legislators responded so positively to this idea when we brought it to their attention."