Calling the step necessary to fix a flawed democracy, the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois today submitted testimony in support of House Joint Resolution 16, supporting statehood for the District of Columbia.

“House Joint Resolution 16 addresses a serious flaw in our democracy — the lack of meaningful representation for the more than 700,000 residents of the District of Columbia,” said Colleen Connell, Executive Director, ACLU of Illinois. “Each of these people deserve the same for voting rights as every other American. The ongoing denial of full voting rights for the residents of DC, most of whom are Black and Brown, is an egregious example of voter suppression which is sweeping our country today.”

As of December 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates D.C.’s population has grown to 712,000. Among D.C.’s voting population today are more than 11,000 active-duty service members and more than 30,000 veterans, all of whom are being denied their full voting rights simply because they live in D.C.

“It is long past time for D.C. to be granted statehood. Making D.C. a state is not a partisan issue, it is a campaign for equal civil rights. It is a democratic effort to re-enfranchise more than 712,000 Americans who have been wrongly denied their full voting rights for more than 200 years. Every member of our state legislature, every member of the U.S. Congress, and every person who believes in our Democracy and equal rights should support D.C. statehood. The ACLU of Illinois encourages you to pass this resolution and add your voice to those demanding statehood for our fellow Americans in Washington, DC. It is time for this historic wrong to be corrected,” Connell concluded.

You can read the testimony in full here. 

The statement below can be attributed to Ghirlandi Guidetti, LGBTQ & HIV Project Staff Attorney, ACLU of Illinois:
 
“At today’s hearing, DCFS officials offered more excuses for its inadequate care for LGBTQ youth, as confirmed by the Auditor’s report. Rather than accept any responsibility for its failures – a prerequisite for any meaningful change – the Department suggested things are different now, and made more promises for the future. 
 
The truth is that the experiences of LGBTQ youth in care are no better today than they were during the audit. Our youth deserve better than promises of future change.”

Statement of the ACLU of Illinois:

“We are pleased to announce the successful resolution of Butler v. Staes, et al., a matter first filed in January 2020. We filed this case after our client Jaylan – an innocent college student returning from a swim meet on his team’s bus – was taken to the ground and had a gun held to his head by police officers. After reaching a settlement with two of the officers who directly interacted with Jaylan on that fateful evening, Jaylan has filed a stipulation to dismiss the remaining claims. 

We filed this case to seek accountability for Jaylan and to raise awareness of the degree to which traumatic police interactions harm individuals, even when the person harmed is able to walk away. We believe, and Jaylan concurs, that our actions to date have satisfied those goals. Now, Jaylan can put this matter behind him and continue his private life as a student, athlete, and young man. 

We are so pleased to have worked on this case, and to represent Jaylan as he pursued accountability for the actions taken against him by police officers. Jaylan was determined to ensure that his experience would not simply fly under the radar the way abusive police interactions with young Black men often do. Despite all of the challenges of the last year, Jaylan has remained committed to this quest for accountability – both for himself and for the wider community – and continues to seek to ensure that police officers treat young Black men like himself with dignity and respect.

We thank our co-counsel at Sidley Austin and all of those who have been part of the legal team supporting Jaylan. We also thank Jaylan‘s family for their support and partnership at every step in this process. We wish Jaylan the best of luck in the future and are pleased that this matter has been resolved in a positive fashion.”

Statement of Jaylan Butler:

“The memories of that night being pressed to the ground, with officers swearing at me and a gun pointed at my head, will remain with me forever. But I know that unlike other Black men who have been stopped and manhandled by police, I got to go home. For me, this lawsuit has always been about holding the officers accountable for their actions that night. I believe I have accomplished that goal. As a result, I am happy to dismiss the suit and move forward.

I want to thank all of the people from across the country who were supportive of me during this time. I value your well wishes and words of appreciation more than I can say.

The end of this lawsuit is not the end of the fight for police accountability. We must ensure that officers are held to account when they violate someone’s constitutional rights. This is an effort that I will continue to support for the rest of my life.”