News & Commentary

Springfield, IL - Just a few minutes ago, the Illinois Senate approved Senate Bill 3539 -- ending the broken death penalty system in Illinois. With the earlier House action approving the measure, all that is required for Illinois to become a non-death penalty state is the Governor's signature.

On Thursday afternoon, the Illinois House of Representatives was a raucous place -- with talk of a deal on a tax increase, Medicaid reform and proposed budget cuts all sweeping around the chamber, members created a cacophony of sound that echoed around the huge chamber. But late in the afternoon, as the House began to consider Senate Bill 3539 -- a measure to end Illinois' broken death penalty system -- the chamber became hushed. Every member seemed to grasp the importance of the debate, coming after a decade in which the State of Illinois has operated under a death penalty moratorium because so many innocent men were released from death row.

January 6, 2010 6:40 p.m. - Springfield, IL - Just a few minutes ago, after an initial vote failed, the Illinois House voted to end Illinois' expensive, broken death penalty system. By a vote of 60 to 54, the House sent Senate Bill 3539 on to the Senate. The battle for history is not complete. The Senate is expected to take up this measure shortly -- and we need every vote.

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On December 1st, 2010, the Illinois Senate approved the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act, after the Illinois House's approval the previous day. Once the Governor signs that bill, the Civil Union Act will become the law of Illinois and the extensive and crucially important protections available by joining in a civil union will be available to all Illinois citizens.

Sandra Benson Brantley, Counsel to the General Assembly, Office of the Attorney General:

A proposal by members of the Saline County Board to post a plaque with the Ten Commandments on the property of the County Courthouse recently drew a sharp objection from the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois. Recently, the Saline County Board discussed the proposal including the idea having a public referendum to assess support for the display. Perhaps most surprising, a member of the Board publicly suggested that it was time for the Board to "take a stand and defy the courts."

This week, Illinois changed the course of history.

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