The Chicago Tribune did a story about former ACLU of Illinois client Doug Ferguson and his experience being a gay Eagle Scout in light of a recent statement from a Boy Scouts of America board member urging them to revise their ban on gay scouts. In the 90's the ACLU of Illinois challenged, in a series of court actions, Boy Scout youth programs that excluded both participants and potential employees on the basis of their sexual orientation and religious beliefs.

Ferguson, a 41-year-old Chicago attorney, is both gay and a proud Eagle Scout, an honor he earned in the late 1980s by collecting and organizing 10 tons of provisions for his church's food pantry.

"It was a way of bringing together my involvement in my faith with Scouts," he explained. "Thinking back now, it certainly gives me a little bit of pain to know that if I had been out about my sexual orientation ... they would have said, 'Thanks, but no thanks.'"

Read the whole thing.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office will concede that the ban on the freedom to marry for same sex couples in Illinois is unconstitutional. The filing today comes in response to the ACLU of Illinois and Lambda Legal’s coordinated lawsuits challenging the marriage ban.

ACLU attorney John Knight said today that he wasn’t surprised that the state’s attorney agrees with the argument, particularly since Orr himself has made clear that he believes same-sex couples should be granted marriage licenses.

“This is good news,” Knight said of today’s filing. “It certainly brings us closer to the day we’re looking for.”

Read the whole thing.