Former Urbana Mayor, community activist and longtime Champaign County ACLU chapter leader Hiram Paley passed away on Monday, the News Gazette reports. Under Hiram’s leadership as Mayor, Urbana became one of the first communities in the nation to protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation.  Hiram was also a tireless advocate on behalf of freedom of expression, racial justice, and other civil liberties issues.

Because of his lifetime efforts in working for progressive causes, Professor Paley received the Roger Baldwin Award from the Illinois American Civil Liberties Union in 2005.

Professor Paley was engaged politically, most often in Democratic campaigns. He and his wife were regular hosts for U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin events, but that did not mean he had a closed mind, Jean Paley said.

"I think he got along really well with people on both sides of the aisle," she said

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The City of Springfield has voted to reverse its decision and will allow partner healthcare benefits for city employees in a civil union, the State Journal-Register reports. On December 28, 2011, the ACLU of Illinois sent a letter to Springfield Mayor Michael Houston urging support for equal benefits to all Springfield city employees.

Spouses of Springfield city employees in civil unions will be eligible for health insurance benefits beginning March 1.

The city’s Joint Labor/Management Health Care Committee voted unanimously this morning to provide the benefits, reversing its December decision.

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The Chicago Sun-Times wrote about the death of the ACLU of Illinois' former Executive Director, Jay Miller. They spoke with current Executive Director Colleen Connell about some of his many achievements.

“He traveled to every corner of the state to speak out for basic rights — whether popular or unpopular,” said Colleen K. Connell, current executive director of the state American Civil Liberties Union. “He simply thought we had an obligation to follow the Constitution.”

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