When the ACLU of Illinois founded the Next Generation Society in 2015, our goal was to bring together a diverse group of people united by a common commitment: to support the essential work of the ACLU. For a century, the ACLU has fought tirelessly to hold America to its promises. And over the last five years, the Next Generation Society has played a critical role in that fight. We have grown into a vibrant and vital part of the ACLU’s efforts to protect protestors’ First Amendment rights, reimagine policing, uphold reproductive freedom, preserve privacy, and much more.
 
Activism and engagement have been central to Next Gen’s identity and impact from the start. Next Gen members have organized and participated in ACLU fundraising and events, taken to the streets, championed legislative initiatives, and served as cooperating attorneys and volunteers. When the Trump Administration issued the Muslim ban, Next Gen members showed up at O’Hare Airport to protest.

When the administration ramped up surveillance on social media, Next Gen organized to share actionable guidance about protecting your privacy. Next Gen board members organized the benefit concert RiseUp and launched an annual celebrity-chef dinner, with the proceeds funding the ACLU’s work.

When the ACLU needed additional resources because of the unprecedented number of attacks on our rights, Next Gen launched the Freedom Fund, an ambitious campaign to raise $1 million dollars for the ACLU over five years. And thanks to the commitment of its members and supporters, Next Gen is now able to fully fund an ACLU staff attorney position each year. 
 
On the eve of a consequential election, we must remain focused on the challenges we will face regardless of the outcome. As crucial as this election is, its outcome will not automatically fix policing, reform the broken criminal legal system, or end our prison-industrial complex. It will not end the siege on reproductive rights in the courts. And it will not reunite the 545 children who still remain separated from their parents by the Trump administration’s cruel family separation practice because their parents have not been found.
 
The hard work is just beginning. We will need the ACLU and the Next Generation Society not only to undo the many harms of the Trump Administration, but to rebuild our country and finally realize its unmet promises of equality and justice for all. In the end, we believe the promise of America – our values, our democracy, and above all, our shared humanity – is worth fighting for.

We want to thank every member of the Next Generation Society for helping the ACLU in this fight. We will stand on the front lines, together, as long as it takes for America to fulfill its promise to all its people.

The statement below can be attributed to Karen Sheley, Police Practices Project Director, ACLU of Illinois: 

"The release of the footage surrounding the shooting death of Marcellis Stinette and the wounding of his girlfriend Tafara Williams by Waukegan police underscore the need for a reckoning on policing in Illinois. It is imperative that there be a full, fair and independent investigation of the shooting death of yet another Black man at the hands of police in our state. A 7-month-old child has lost her father and there must be a public explanation of precisely what occurred followed by appropriate consequences. 

It is especially troubling that the officer who fired the fatal shot failed to activate the body-worn camera that was provided by the Waukegan police. Five years ago, in the wake of the tragic shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, law enforcement agencies implemented the widespread use of body worn cameras for officers – so that the public would have an independent, neutral recording of police interactions with members of the communities they serve.  That purpose and the goal of transparency is undermined when officers fail to follow the rules for the use of cameras.

Sadly, there are no consequences for officers in Illinois who do not follow guidelines for the use of body cameras. That must change. State law should mandate consequences for officers who do not use their cameras in line with the law. 

We join all those grieving with Mr. Stinette’s family, and wishing well for Ms. Williams and their child. Their pain has been experienced by too many Black families across our nation in the wake of police violence against Black people. It must end. Black Lives Matter." 

With early voting under way in the 2020 election – and a record number of mail-in ballots being distributed and returned across the State of Illinois – voters need access to more information about how they can assure their vote is recorded in November. As Election Day nears, voters also need more information about how they can change their minds, and vote in person even if they have requested a mail-in ballot. 

The ACLU of Illinois wants every voter to know that: 

• If a voter already has received a vote-by-mail ballot, the voter can return it to an early voting site or the appropriate polling place on Election Day. Once the voter surrenders the vote-by-mail ballot to an election judge, that ballot is voided, and the voter can cast a regular ballot.
• If a voter requested – by has not yet received – a vote-by-mail ballot, the voter can go to an early voting site or their polling place on Election Day. The voter will be asked to sign an affidavit certifying they did not receive the vote-by-mail ballot. The voter should then be issued – and can vote – a regular ballot. 
• If a voter received a requested vote-by-mail ballot but lost it, the voter can go to an early voting site or their local polling place on Election Day, and sign an affidavit certifying they have not cast a ballot. The voter then receives a provisional ballot.
• If a voter receives a vote-by-mail ballot after the voter has voted in person – either early or on Election Day, the voter must discard the vote-by-mail ballot. Do not attempt to vote-by-mail after you have voted in person. Doing so is a Class 3 felony. (And because voting systems will not allow more than one vote per voter, your mail ballot will be rejected.)

“We need to speak with one, loud voice on this issue,” said Michelle Hernandez, Advocacy Associate at the ACLU of Illinois. “With concerns about the Postal Service and loud, public attacks on the legitimacy of mail-in voting, and delays in getting vote-by-mail ballots to voters, some people who have requested a mail-in ballot need know that they can still change their voting plans to vote in person, either in early voting or on Election Day.” 

“It is critical to get this message out now – as people are making decisions in real time.” 

For more information about voting in the 2020 election in Illinois, please go here.