By Ellyn Fortino, Communications Intern

Happy New Year ACLU Insiders! 2009 is over and that means the infamous "best of the decade" lists. Lately, I have been bombarded with the best music and movies of the decade, but here is a top ten list to be truly proud of: The important civil rights and liberties advances of the decade.

1. January 2000- Illinois Governor George H. Ryan declares moratorium on the death penalty.

2. August 2003- The Illinois Civil Rights Act of 2003 becomes Illinois law. The Illinois Civil Rights Act of 2003 helps to open the courthouse doors to persons, specifically racial and ethnic minorities, in Illinois whose civil rights have been violated.

3. May 2004- The first legal same-sex marriages in the U.S. are performed in Massachusetts.

4. August 2004- The ACLU of Illinois attorneys, on behalf of reproductive health care providers, help challenge and shoot down the "Partial Birth Abortion Act of 2003," a federal abortion ban signed by President George W. Bush.

5. January 2005- Illinois adds discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity to the Human Rights Act, the first protection for LGBT Illinoisans against discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodation, among others.

6. July 2006- Senate reauthorizes the Voting Rights Act, a civil rights law first passed in 1965 to prevent voting discrimination.

7. January 2007- BH v. Samuels: ACLU of Illinois' success of a class action lawsuit that requires the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center to provide safe and clean living conditions for foster kids in their care.

8. November 2008- President-elect Barack Obama promises to close Guantanamo Bay prison.

9. June 2009- Safford v. Redding: Supreme Court rules in ACLU's favor that the strip search of a 13-year-old student was a breech of the student's constitutional rights.

10. December 2009- Funding for abstinence only sex-education programs ends after President Obama signs the FY 2010 Omnibus Appropriations Bill into law. The bill provides $114 million for the first ever teen pregnancy prevention programs.

Illinois recently raised the registration fee for lobbyists from $350 to $1,000, for each person who lobbies, and for each organization that employs such a person. Thus, for a non-profit organization that employs one lobbyist, the registration fee has jumped from $700 to $2,000. The ACLU of Illinois, with two full-time legislative advocates, must now pay $3,000. In this regard, Illinois is an anomaly: in 42 states, the lobby registration fee is $150 or less for a non-profit group and its lobbyist employee; and in the other 7 states, that fee is less than $365. The federal government charges no lobby registration fee at all. Moreover, Illinois exempts from this fee media organizations, and certain lobbying by religious groups.

On December 11, the ACLU filed a lawsuit, alleging that the Illinois lobby registration fee violates the First Amendment rights to speech, association, and petition, for two reasons. First, the government cannot prove a proper nexus between the large size of the fee, and the government's actual and reasonable costs in administering the lobby registration rules. Second, the exemption for media and religious groups are unlawfully discriminatory. The ACLU asked the Court for a temporary restraining order ("TRO"), enjoining the government from requiring non-profit organizations, and their employees, from paying any registration fee.

On December 23, the Court granted plaintiffs' TRO motion. That TRO will last until mid-January, when the Court holds a hearing on plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction. The Court on December 23 also issued an 11-page memorandum stating the reasons for the TRO order. The memo explained that plaintiffs' have a reasonable likelihood of success on the merits of their claims that the new lobby fee is excessive in size, and that it unlawfully privileges religious speech over non-religious speech. The Court also rejected the government's assertion that jurisdiction was barred by the federal Tax Injunction Act.

We are pleased by the Court's decision today and look forward to seeking a permanent injunction in the new year.

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Download:

• The Court's Memorandum Granting the TRO
• The ACLU of Illinois' Complaint

It has been an amazing twelve months. A new Presidential Administration has changed some of the odious policies of the Bush Administration, but has left many in place, necessitating continued diligence and attention by civil libertarians. Here in Illinois, we have seen a change in the Governorship, but - unfortunately - we have seen few improvements in the conditions faced by the most vulnerable in our society, including children in the child welfare system, ethnic minorities being subjected to discriminatory police behavior and the mentally and physically disabled forced to live in large institutions with little autonomy and, often, substandard conditions.

In the face of these challenges, I am more proud than ever of the ACLU's work. And, I am thankful for the resources we have in this state in order to continue our work. I am thankful for the Board and leadership of this organization that give time and attention to our work. I am thankful for a wonderful, experienced staff who labor each day on behalf of our clients. I am thankful for our generous donors and benefactors who provide the financial support that makes this affiliate strong and vibrant.

And, I am thankful for you - our members and on-line activists who lend your voice to our work. Over the past twelve months, we have asked you to reach out to your legislators and local leaders on critical civil liberties concerns. The response is overwhelming: you have made more than 10,000 contacts in answer to those requests - 10,000!

As a result, your voice is being heard - in the halls of the State Capitol and throughout this office. And, we look forward to hearing from you in 2010.

To see all that we have accomplished together, you might like reviewing a speech I recently delivered at our 2009 Bill of Rights Celebration - a speech made possible because of the support and assistance of people just like you. You can read the speech at action.aclu.org/cost.

As we enter this holiday season, I wish you and your family the best and hope that you have a Happy New Year. Although our national office will send other messages in the next couple of weeks, this is the final message from the ACLU of Illinois for the year. After the first of the year, we will be back and we know that you will answer the call.