The Chicago Tribune published an article about the possibility of Chicago Police wearing body cameras as a way to decrease police misconduct in the wake of the events in Ferguson, Missouri. As a result of the growing concern of police brutality throughout the country, body cameras have been considered as a potential solution by creating more oversight and transparency of law enforcement at large. However, the ACLU has suggested some basic privacy guidelines for their use that would address: notice to civilians; when to record; retention of images; and, disclosure of images. The Tribune spoke with ACLU of Illinois Communications and Public Policy Director Ed Yohnka:

An even trickier issue could be when the camera gets turned on or off. While the ACLU believes police officers don't need to keep the cameras rolling during their entire shifts, they should record every interaction they have with citizens — whether it's making an arrest or just giving out directions — to prevent racial profiling and other discrimination, said spokesman Edwin Yohnka.

If police control who they record, Yohnka said, that "leaves too much discretion with the officers to decide what's an informal conversation and what's a formal conversation."

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Once again, the Chicago Tribune reports that the number of child abuse and neglect related deaths in Chicago continues to be high, only this time, the numbers may actually be the highest they have ever been. For decades, the ACLU of Illinois has monitored the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) as a result of a consent decree aimed to improve the care and services for children in its custody. The consent decree outlined a limit to the number of cases a DCFS social worker can have, so that they are able to fully accommodate new child abuse and neglect cases. DCFS states that the new numbers may not be accurate due to the efficacy of their data collection process. The Chicago Tribune spoke with ACLU of Illinois' Ben Wolf: 

Benjamin Wolf, assistant legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, said there's "no excuse" for a child welfare system not accurately tracking and disclosing such important records.

"I think the department has suffered from a revolving door of leadership in recent years," said Wolf, who monitors DCFS under a federal consent decree. "It remains a problem."

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