Americans increasingly are using online social networks in order to communicate with family and friends, share photos and news and express their own political views. Increasingly, private interests (and government entities) try to get access to this personal information for a variety of purposes -- from marketing to surveillance. All of us need tools to protect our personal information.

Representative LaShawn Ford has proposed House Bill 3782 which simply says that a prospective employer cannot ask an applicant for the passwords and user names of their social network sites. This is common sense. Employers can set reasonable policies about the use of such networks during office hours, but asking for access to personal information before an applicant is hired is just too big an intrusion.

Contact your state representative today and urge support for House Bill 3782

The Northwest Herald writes about the recent federal decision to require contraception coverage for most health insurance plans, and how the Catholic community is responding. The ACLU of Illinois has been convening panel discussion events throughout Illinois about the "War on Contraception" and attacks to birth control access nationwide and throughout the state as part of our Defending the Targets of Intolerance campaign.

“We think that it is critical that ... contraceptives be available because they play such a critical role for women in terms of health care, and we think that the broad availability of them is critically important,” said Edwin C. Yohnka, director of communications and public policy for the ACLU of Illinois.

Read the article.

The Chicago Sun-Times posted a profile of legendary Chicago historian and civil rights activist Timuel Black. In addition to serving on the board of directors for the ACLU of Illinois, Black was also lead plaintiff in a lawsuit that sought to ban faulty punch card ballots during the 2000 presidential election.

Black entered the City Colleges of Chicago system in 1969 as a dean at Wright College. He was vice president at Olive Harvey from 1971-73; head of communications systemwide from 1973-79; then taught at Loop College until his retirement as professor emeritus in 1989. In the wake of the 2000 presidential election, he was the lead plaintiff in the ACLU’s Black v. McGuffage lawsuit, which charged the Illinois voting system discriminated against minorities. The suit led to the ban of punch card ballots and a new uniform voting system in Illinois.

Read the article.