The constitutionality of a River Forest ordinance limiting political signs on residential properties is being questioned by a village trustee. The local River Forest publication, Forest Leaves, reports that Trustee Thomas Cargie questions the legality of the ordinance which specifies that only one political sign, of specific dimensions, may be posted in a yard. When questioned on the issue, ACLU spokesman Ed Yohnka pointed out that the U.S. Supreme Court had stuck down a similar Missouri ordinance in 1994:

“The bottom line [in the Supreme Court ruling] is that in many ways placing a yard sign with a political candidate’s name on it or taking a stand on a particular issue is for many of us the most intimate and most personal way we can express our political views to our neighbors and the people who move through our neighborhoods,” he said. “Undue limitations on that speech is something that clearly runs afoul of the Constitution.”

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Continuing an argument that we saw throughout the debate over the freedom to marry, a defiant wedding purveyor vows to continue to turn away business from same-sex couples seeking to celebrate their marriages at his Paxton, Illinois bed and breakfast even if he loses a suit now before the Illinois Human Rights Commission.  Jim Walder told the Paxton Record that he expects the Illinois General Assembly to legislatively exempt business owners like himself from the state’s Marriage Equality Act if their religious beliefs oppose same-sex marriages. He and his lawyer further maintained that they are prepared to appeal any ruling not in their favor on the pending law-suit.  The ACLU of Illinois, which brought the suit against Walder when he refused to book a civil union celebration at his Timber Creek Bed and Breakfast in 2011, told the Paxton Record that the fight for equality for same-sex couples will continue:

“Entities that conduct business with the public are bound by Illinois law not to discriminate against customers for a range of reasons, including sexual orientation,” said Ed Yohnka, director of communications and public policy for the ACLU of Illinois. “The notion that we would carve out an exception to these laws for businesses that want to discriminate against gay and lesbian couples is something that we oppose strenuously.

“If such a carve-out is allowed, what next? Could a business say that they have a religious objection to folks of other religious beliefs, or against women? We do not let people pick and choose which non-discrimination laws they follow. We enforce the law for the benefit of everyone. Changing that policy invites chaos.”

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A human tragedy unfolds in Texas as a collision of patient rights, standard medical practices, and rigidly applied state laws battle over who controls death. According to The New York Times, a Fort Worth Texas hospital has over-ruled a patient’s wishes, and those of her family, refusing to disconnect the brain-dead woman from life support systems because she is 14 weeks pregnant. The hospital maintains it is doing so in compliance with Texas state law.  ACLU of Illinois executive director Colleen Connell recently addressed a similar issue noting:

“Health care must be delivered consistent with informed patient choice and medically-directed standards of care – not religious doctrine or directives.”

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