News & Commentary

Overcrowding in Illinois prisons is up, with more than 40,000 prisoners in a system built for only 32,000. While Illinois spends more than $1.4 billion on prisons each and every year, nearly half of formerly incarcerated people return to prison within three years. The reasons why are clear: overreliance on punitive sentencing, underinvestment in education and employment opportunities in communities, and cutting or underfunding programs proven to reduce recidivism.

An update on our ACLU of Illinois client case from the Fire Law Blog:

Testimony of Heidi DalenbergRiley Safer Holmes and Cancila LLPGeneral Counsel and Cooperating Counsel, ACLU of IllinoisBefore the Senate Human Services CommitteeSubject Matter On: Testimony on Department of Children and Family Services' hotline and investigate processOctober 24, 2017

 

The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois held its 3rd Annual Legislator Awards on Thursday, October 12th and honored several Illinois lawmakers for their successful advocacy in 2017.

The Nominating Committee of the ACLU of Illinois Board of Directors has submitted its slate of nominees for the election to be held in November.

Below are the remarks from Lorie Chaiten, Director, Women's and Reproductive Rights Project from the HB 40 bill signing ceremony:

I always wanted to be a police officer. Helping people has been my main goal in life, and it’s why I wanted to become an officer. I was never prouder than the day I graduated from the police academy.I’ve worked as a patrol officer for the same department for 14 years, and the depa

Something happened yesterday. Something that may seem like a fairy tale in the current political moment. A Republican governor signed a bill to lift bans on insurance coverage for abortion for low-income women enrolled in Medicaid. The bill would also protect the right to abortion in Illinois — even if the unthinkable happens and Roe v. Wade is overturned.