Keynote Address by Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky to Headline Organization's Annual Gala

Illinois Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, a tireless and outspoken advocate for protecting basic constitutional rights, headlines the 2007 American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois Bill of Rights Celebration. The event, to be held on Saturday evening, October 20th in the Crystal Ballroom at the Chicago Hyatt Regency Hotel, is expected to draw more than six hundred (600) ACLU of Illinois members and supporters from across the state.

Congresswoman Schakowsky is expected to address concerns about fundamental constitutional abuses by the Bush Administration in the past few years, from overreaching on warrantless wiretapping to limitations on oversight by Congress.

"The timing for Congresswoman Schakowsky’s message could not be better," said Colleen Connell, Executive Director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois. "As Congress considers a proposal to permanently grant broad authority for the executive branch to conduct surveillance without meaningful oversight, we expect Congresswoman Schakowsky to give a clarion call to our supporters about the danger of lodging too much power in one branch of government. We look forward to her remarks."

In addition to Congresswoman Schakowsky’s remarks, the evening will be marked by the presentation of three ACLU awards. Earlier this year, the ACLU of Illinois Board of Directors voted to recognize the accomplishments of three outstanding champions of civil liberties: Chicago attorney Richard Prins, Peoria activist Dave Weiman and editorial cartoonist for the Springfield State Journal Register Chris Britt.

The recipient of the 2007 Edwin A. Rothschild Award is Richard Prins, a long time ACLU activist. Mr. Prins first joined the ACLU of Illinois in 1959 and has spent the nearly five interceding decades working tirelessly to insure the protection of civil liberties in our state. Since joining the organization’s Board of Directors in the mid-1960s, Mr. Prins has been active as the organization dealt with complex and controversial issues - including police abuse in the 1960s, the plans of a neo-Nazi organization to demonstrate in Skokie in the 1970s and the challenges to civil liberties posed after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

The 2007 James P. McGuire Award is being presented to Chris Britt, an editorial cartoonist for the Springfield State Journal Register. Regularly published in national publications such as Newsweek, Time, the New York Times and U.S. News and World Report, Britt's sharp wit and keen powers of observation have drawn recognition from across the nation and internationally. Since 9/11, Britt has published a series of cartoons commenting on the absurd abuse of power by the Bush Administration, in wiretapping and other areas.

Dave Weiman, a former ACLU Chapter leader from Peoria and local activist, is the Annetta Dieckmann Volunteer Award recipient for this year. Mr. Weiman has worked selflessly for the past two years to help found and develop the Peoria-based Heartland Safe Schools Initiative (HSSI). HSSI was founded in order to expose and prevent the harassment of gay and lesbian - as well as questioning - youth in Peoria area public schools. Following a highly-successful public program in January 2007, Weiman and HSSI convinced the Peoria Public School system to begin training for teachers and administrators to deal with problems of harassment faced by these vulnerable youth.

"We are looking forward to a successful Bill of Rights Celebration," adds the ACLU's Connell. "The quality of the awardees, the strength and vitality of our membership and the importance of civil liberties issues in the public consciousness at this time makes this event very special."