As part of the AIDS at 30 series, the Windy City Times published a profile of former ACLU of Illinois attorney John Hammell. Hammell was the first lawyer brought on by the ACLU of Illinois to work exclusively on cases involving HIV/AIDS issues. He later moved on to become the LGBT rights project director. Both Colleen Connell, executive director, and Harvey Grossman, legal director, are quoted in the article offering their fondest memories of working with Hammell.

"He was a wonderful colleague and a really smart lawyer," Connell said. "John was the ultimate coalition builder. … He saw the connectivity of really so many of the issues that the ACLU worked on."

Hammell argued a number of precedent-setting cases including one that forced the Chicago Transit Authority to post AIDS-prevention ads on buses and trains; one that extended federal housing protection to HIV-infected patients; and one that declared a state law compelling HIV testing unconstitutional.

Read the whole thing.

The ACLU of Illinois' very own communications and public policy director, Ed Yohnka, wrote an article for the Huffington Post about Governor Pat Quinn's decision to close Tamms Supermax Prison. The downstate correctional facility is known for its tactic of solitary confinement, holding prisoners in cells for extended periods of time - sometimes for up to ten years. The nature of solitary confinement is the reason why costs were so much higher per prisoner, as compared to other correctional facilities in Illinois. Despite the fact that closing Tamms will reduce costs to taxpayers, and eliminate this type of cruel punishment, some are voicing concern over the closing.

Since the announcement by Governor Quinn that Tamms would be shuttered under his plan, some have (predictably) raised concerns, suggesting that Illinois residents might not be safe if the facility is closed. No evidence is offered for this suggestion, only dark inferences of some pending threat. There is a reason that these voices offer no evidence: It does not exist. Indeed, there is evidence from other states across the nation that prisoners who are held in solitary confinement actually have a higher rate of recidivism than those held in the general population. In other words, Tamms -- like other supermax facilities -- simply has not added to our public safety.

Read the whole article.

The Huffington Post reported on the hostile amendments to the ultrasound bill (House Bill 4085) which passed out of committee today. The bill originally would require that a woman seeking an abortion view an ultrasound of her fetus, or provide a written statement of her refusal. The hostile amendments (amendments #3-7), sponsored by Representatives Feigenholtz, Cassidy, Jakobsson, Lang, and Flowers, seek to address inconsistencies in the bill's original content. Two out of the five amendments aim to impose fairness by addressing issues around coverage and informed consent for the prescription of erectile dysfunction medication.

Three additional amendments address the ultrasound itself, requiring women to consent to the costs associated with the ultrasound (which may not be covered by insurance), and extending the pre-procedure ultrasound requirement to surgical treatments unrelated to reproductive health, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois.

Read more about the amendments.