The Chicago Sun-Times published an editorial blasting the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) for the lack of a response to the report released in an ACLU of Illinois case challenging IDOC for failing to provide adequate medical care for its prisoners. The report was a result of a court-appointed panel of medical experts' evaluation of medical facilities within IDOC. The study cites sweeping problems throughout a broad range a medical services, including unqualified and incompetent physicians and nurses, inadequate medical leadership and unsanitary conditions within the facilities. Most notably, the report found that 60% of non-violent deaths show "significant lapses in care."

The study grew out a federal class-action lawsuit brought in 2010 by a diabetic inmate who said IDOC displays “deliberate indifference” toward inmates’ medical care. The suit now involves the American Civil Liberties Union and the state, which shared the costs of the report and agreed which prisons would be studied and which experts would be involved.

Read the entire editorial.

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Griswold v. Connecticut, the landmark Supreme Court case that struck down as unconstitutional criminal bans on the sale of contraceptives.

The anniversary of Griswold serves as an important reminder of how far we’ve come, but also of how much work there is left to do. For evidence of the struggles before us, we need look no further than last year’s Hobby Lobby decision, which stripped thousands of women of insurance coverage for contraception because their employers object to birth control on religious grounds.

Fifty years after Griswold, meaningful access to birth control is still under fire. Just ask Angela and Stel, whose doctor refused to provide Angela with birth control because of Catholic health care restrictions.

Illinois law allows health care providers to deny their patients care and even information when they object to doing so on religious grounds, and, when they do, women like Angela suffer. But the ACLU is fighting back. We have been pushing to pass Senate Bill 1564, which would ensure that when medical providers have religious objections to providing care, patients still have access to all the information they need to understand their treatment options and to get the care they need. The bill has had a tremendous journey: it passed the Senate and the House Human Services Committee and awaits a vote on the House floor.

The clock is ticking, and we need your help to keep the momentum going. Please make a donation to support the ACLU’s ongoing efforts to Put Patients First in Illinois

Earlier today, the Illinois Senate approved House Bill 0218, sponsored by Senator Michael Noland, by a vote of 37 to 19. HB0218 creates a new civil law violation, non-criminal penalty (resulting in a fine) for a person found to be in possession of 15 grams of marijuana or less for personal use.

The following statement can be attributed to Khadine Bennett of the ACLU of Illinois:

With today’s vote, Illinois is moving forward by decriminalizing the possession of a small amount of marijuana. Moving this measure through the Senate and to the Governor for approval is a significant down payment on the job of improving our criminal justice system – a goal shared by the Governor and a strong bipartisan bloc within the General Assembly.

Most of all, today’s action sends a strong signal that Illinois is ready to abandon the destructive and discredited “War on Drugs,” where harsh penalties and discriminatory enforcement has resulted in thousands of persons – especially young men of color – being denied access to housing, to education and to employment. There is much work left to reverse the devastation caused by misguided criminal justice policies like imposing criminal penalties for the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

The ACLU of Illinois extends special appreciation for the hard work of Senator Michael Noland and Representative Kelly Cassidy, who made today’s victory possible. We urge the Governor to sign HB 218 into law.

Learn more about the bill.