In an effort to reform services and care for children who are wards of the state of Illinois, independent monitors from the University of Illinois at Chicago's psychiatry department have begun their review of residential treatment centers operated by the Department of Child and Family Service (DCFS), as the result of a court-approved agreement in ACLU litigation against the agency, the Chicago Tribune reports. Investigative reports from earlier this year exposing cases of abuse and neglect within the facilities prompted the ACLU to go back to court to jump-start reforms. The ACLU of Illinois represents these children under a decades-long consent decree originally designed to improve the quality of services and to ensure the safety of children who are under DCFS care. The Chicago Tribune spoke with ACLU of Illinois associate legal director Ben Wolf:

"Residential treatment ought to be something we rely on much less often and that we oversee much more aggressively," said ACLU associate legal director Benjamin Wolf. "The real test of any reforms is whether the children in state custody are better off."

Read the entire article.

Harmful legislation signed today by Governor Mike Pence of Indiana will allow business owners to refuse to follow anti-discrimination protections and other laws based on religious objections. In an opinion piece for the Chicago Tribune, Rex Huppke notes that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, now Indiana law, will most likely harm lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, as they are not protected under the state's anti-discrimination laws like they are in Illinois, where discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is prohibited. The ACLU of Indiana and the National ACLU had petitioned Governor Pence to veto the bill, but to no avail. The ACLU remains concerned about similar bills in other states that have been introduced. Huppke spoke with ACLU of Illinois Communications and Public Policy Director Ed Yohnka:

“I think Indiana may be the tip of the spear,” said Ed Yohnka, spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois. “If we get a favorable ruling on marriage equality from the court, then there probably are a number of states where there will be an attempt to pass this kind of legislation. Somehow the person being discriminated against has become the business owner who is discriminating against someone.”

Read the entire piece.

The release of the ACLU of Illinois report, "Stop and Frisk in Chicago," was met with an appropriate volume of media coverage, responding to the disturbing trends about the Chicago Police Department's use (and overuse) of stop-and-frisk tactics. The report found that:

1. Last summer, based on population, the CPD made far more street stops than New York City police did at the height of their use of stop-and-frisk. The CPD stopped more than 250,000 innocent people;
2. In nearly half of stops examined by the ACLU, Chicago police failed to legally justify the stop;
3. The practice unfairly targets African American residents of Chicago. African Americans were subject to an estimated 72% of stops, but are just 32% of the City’s population.

The following is a round-up of media coverage on the release of the report:

• Chicago Tribune - Street stops by Chicago police far surpass New York, ACLU finds
• WBEZ - ACLU: Chicago police make more stops than New York at its peak
• WGN - CPD records show officers stop blacks more than whites, Hispanics
• NBC Chicago - Blacks in Chicago Far More Likely to Be Subject of "Stop and Frisk," ACLU Says
• Fox Chicago - CPD under fire for 'stop-and-frisk'
• Chicago Sun-Times - CPD stopped over 250,000 people — mostly black — without arrests last summer: ACLU
• The Guardian - Chicago used stop-and-frisk at four times New York's rate in 2011 heyday
• CBS Chicago - ACLU: Chicago Stop-And-Frisk Tactics Outpace New York
• ABC 7 - CPD Defends 'Stop-and-Frisk' After ACLU Study
• Chicagoist - ACLU Report Shows Chicago Stop And Frisk Worse Than New York
• Reuters (via The New York Times) - Chicago Police Use Stop-And-Frisk Excessively: ACLU Report
• Associated Press (via The New York Times) - ACLU: Chicago Police Had Higher Stop-And-Frisk Rate Than NYC