Chicago Reporter blogger Curtis Black reviews Chicago Police Department surveillance activity over the last several years in the wake of the undercover infiltration revealed in the trial of the NATO 3.  Black notes, appropriately, that the Chicago Police Department largely has reverted back to using surveillance tactics and methods similar to those used by the department’s notorious Red Squad of the 1970’s. While many of these practices were barred for many years under a consent decree in the ACLU of Illinois' so-called "spy suit."   The ACLU of Illinois expressed special concern the these tactics may be used now that the consent decree has been lifted:

“The American Civil Liberties Union, which took the Red Squad to court in the 1970s, has urged the City Council to enact stricter regulations on police surveillance activities, according to legal director Harvey Grossman.  The group brought this issue to Mayor Rahm Emanuel's attention shortly after he was elected in 2011, when the city settled a lawsuit charging unlawful police spying on the American Friends Service Committee 10 years earlier.”

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The ACLU of Illinois is saddened to learn of the death of Ron Dorfman, a journalist, advocate for civil rights and friend the ACLU of Illinois. We take this moment to extend our heartfelt  condolences to Ron's husband Ken Ilio. Both Ron and Ken had supported and celebrated passage last year of the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Marriage Fairness Act. The reality for Ron and Ken was that they knew that they might not be able to fully enjoy the accomplishment. Ron's terminal heart disease, they knew, could well preclude his living long enough for them to legally marry in June when the law takes effect. Working with the ACLU and Lambda, Dorfman and Ilio were among the four couples who successfully petitioned the courts to expedite their marriage license because of mitigating health reasons, paving the way for other same-sex couples with seriously ill partners to obtain expedited licenses in Cook County. Dorfman and Ilio became the first male, same-sex couple to be legally married in Illinois under the court ruling. Speaking to The Chicago Sun-Times the now widowed Ilio pointed out that though he and Dorfman were just recently wed, “He’s been my partner for 20 years.”   
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The Justice Department, following the lead of the IRS and the Treasury Department, will now treat all married couples equally regardless of gender orientation and without regard to whether or not the state, in which they reside, recognizes same-sex marriage. Attorney General Eric Holder announced the new policy in an address to a dinner sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign and pointed out that the Justice Department runs a number of benefit programs, and gives spouses certain legal protections, which will now be extended to same-sex married couples. Speaking to The Chicago Sun-Times about Holder’s announcement, Ed Yohnka, ACLU of Illinois Director of Communications, pointed out that “It’s just a further step on the way to equality.”
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