The Associated Press posted an article about the ACLU of Illinois’ marriage case. Both Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez have refused to defend the ban on the freedom to marry for same sex couples in Illinois because they think it is unconstitutional.

"I took an oath when I was sworn in to defend the constitution of the state of Illinois and I believe that's what I'm doing," Alvarez said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I'm not going to defend something I believe is in violation of the constitution."

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The Chicago Tribune reports that a Cook County judge agreed to consolidate the ACLU of Illinois’ and Lambda Legal’s suits against Illinois’ ban on same-sex marriage.

Judge Moshe Jacobius, presiding judge of the Chancery Division, agreed to combine the cases during a brief hearing today in the Daley Center. The next hearing has not yet been scheduled.

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The New York Times reported on the Senate’s first ever hearing about solitary confinement in U.S. prisons. The hearing was chaired by U.S. Senator Richard Durbin, and this hearing could greatly impact the residents of Illinois because of the current efforts to shutter the “supermax” prison at Tamms. Holding prisoners in solitary confinement is more expensive, may result in higher rates of recidivism, and inflicts lasting harm on people who have endured such imprisonment.

“We can have a just society, and we can be humane in the process,” Mr. Durbin said. “We can punish wrongdoers, and they should be punished under our system of justice, but we don’t have to cross that line.”

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