The following can be attributed to Nusrat Choudhury, Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois:

“The Supreme Court’s decision in the Fulton v. Chicago case is a real disappointment and fails to recognize that states and cities, including Chicago, are crushing residents with exorbitant fines and fees in order to balance the budgets. Chicago’s reliance on fines and fees buries people under mountains of debt, drives them to bankruptcy, and then keeps people from the vehicles needed to work their way out. 

This problem will only get worse and continue to especially harm Black and Brown communities due to the pressures of COVID-related losses in revenue. We already see the City is seeking more revenue from drivers – and going after those found driving 6 miles an hour over the speed limit on traffic cameras – while allowing a mega-corporation like the Chicago Cubs to delay paying its own debts back the City.
 
It is disappointing that the Supreme Court’s decision will make this problem worse. As Justice Sotomayor’s concurrence recognizes, drivers in low-income communities across the country face similar vicious cycles of steep fines and fees, debt, and loss of their ability to drive to earn money, access medical care, care for their families, and repay their creditors. 

As our country grapples with an economic recession that has plunged millions of people into financial crisis—with Black and Brown communities hardest hit—these practices in Chicago and elsewhere will continue to hurt communities, employers, and the broader public.”
 

A week ago, we watched in horror as an angry mob attacked our US Capitol, killing a police officer and threatening the lives of elected members of Congress and the Vice President of the United States. The assault was an orchestrated effort to disrupt the certification of the votes in the Electoral College, a process established by the Constitution and federal law that stands at the center of the peaceful transfer of power, seeking to overturn the will of the American people as expressed in the November 2020 election. 

This attack was the violent product resulting from a weeks-long campaign by the sitting President to spread lies about fraud in the 2020 election, lies that have been rejected by courts across the country. The baseless campaign to overturn the election specifically targeted Black and Brown votes, suggesting that those votes were undeserving of being counted and considered. This campaign of lies has spread across the country, and shamefully has been adopted by public officials who know that the president’s claims are specious. 

Unfortunately, two members of the Illinois congressional delegation – Representative Mike Bost and Representative Mary Miller – blithely embraced this torrent of lies and voted to challenge lawfully-submitted electoral votes from Arizona and Georgia. These two elected officials cast these offensive votes even after the mob descended on the Capitol, literally after this mob murdered a Capitol police officer and desecrated our nation’s symbol representative government.  

The ACLU of Illinois condemns these votes by Representative Bost and Representative Miller. And, we call on all Illinois residents and voters to hold their elected officials accountable, to resist the allure of elevating fiction over fact, and to demand that everyone sent to represent our state in the Congress of the United States ignore conspiracy theories and lies, and focus on truth and respecting our democratic system of government.  

The following statement can be attributed to Khadine Bennett, Advocacy and Intergovernmental Affairs Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois:

“Reforming criminal justice and demanding meaningful police accountability are critical priorities for communities and people that are most harmed by the broken policing and criminal legal systems. In Illinois, like in many other states, those most harmed are Black and Brown people. 

Today, the Black Caucus’ Justice Pillar, House Bill 3653, sponsored by Senator Elgie Sims and Representative Justin Slaughter, was approved by the Illinois House and Senate chambers, and is prepared for the Governor’s signature. 

Our system of policing does not demand the appropriate level of accountability – resulting in mistreatment of too many. Massive, national protests pointed out this harm throughout 2020. Likewise, our criminal legal system relies too much on incarceration and punishment and does not provide appropriate opportunity for diversion and rehabilitation.

While there is still work to do, the end of the last seven days of lame duck session has put us on a path that can lead to meaningful change.

The bill includes components of police accountability and criminal legal system reform policy changes that advocates, including the ACLU of Illinois, have been working to move forward for years, and pushing non-stop since the summer. Among other important ACLU priorities, the bill removes an antiquated and unnecessary requirement that those making complaints against police sign a sworn statement. And, the bill addresses the real harm of our bail system which keeps people detained simply because of their economic status.  

We applaud Senator Sims, Representative Slaughter and the entire legislative Black Caucus for their leadership in this area and their commitment to these issues. They embraced the need for change and were committed to moving this legislation through the General Assembly. 

We are excited about the changes made today and look forward to continuing to partner with legislators to continue our work to create a policing and criminal legal system that ensures accountability and reflects a commitment to rehabilitation and restoration over penalties. That work will go on after today.”