The ACLU of Illinois is  saddened to learn of the death of Challis Gibbs just weeks after marrying her partner of 21 years, Elvie Jordan. The Gibbs-Jordan marriage was expedited last December by Federal Judge Sharon Coleman’s order granting early marriage licenses to same-sex couples, who because of a terminal illness, could not wait until June to wed when the state’s new marriage equality law to goes into effect.  The case, represented by the ACLU of Illinois and Lambda, established a simple process for LGBT partners to obtain a marriage license in Cook County and wed immediately if one of the couple was suffering from a life threatening disease.  That breakthrough was followed in February by a subsequent decision by Judge Coleman which nullified the state’s old but still enforced marriage discrimination laws, thereby immediately extending marriage equality to all same sex couples obtaining marriage licenses in Cook County.
Read more in The Windy City Times.

The destructive impact, at exorbitant fiscal and social costs, of prison solitary confinement was the focus of recent Senate Subcommittee hearings chaired by Senate Richard Durbin (D-IL.).  Since 2010, when the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights first held hearings which exposed the emotional toll of prison solitary confinement, Senator Durbin has called for strict limits on its use by prison authorities. At this week’s hearings he firmly reiterated that solitary confinement is "a human rights issue we can't ignore."  On “All Things Considered,” NPR Justice Correspondent Carrie Johnson highlights the key issues raised during expert testimony before the committee and notes that:

"In the last couple of years, a lot of factors have come together," Carrie tells Melissa Block on All things Considered. …"There have been efforts by states to save a lot of money and reduce violence in prisons," Carrie says. "And also, a critical mass of advocacy by the ACLU and some researchers," she says, along with bipartisan interest in the issue.

Read more via NPR.