News & Commentary

The Chicago Tribune talked to ACLU of Illinois Communications and Public Policy Director Ed Yohnka about the Real ID Act - a law which was passed in 2005 in light of 9/11. In an effort to combat terrorism by enforcing air travel restrictions, the Real ID Act requires state-issued identification cards to meet certain criteria. A key requirement mandated by the Real ID Act is birth certificate verification, which Illinois currently does not require. The article approximates that an estimated $3.75 million a year would be needed to implement birth certificate verification and to set up a database to store all of the information, which could be shared across state lines. The ACLU has opposed Real ID, citing a range of concerns including costly administrative burdens on state governments, its ineffectiveness against terrorism, increased security risks and threats to privacy. Ed Yohnka told the Chicago Tribune:

WBBM-AM 780 spoke with ACLU Attorney Adam Schwartz about a new measure which would regulate the use of automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) by Illinois law enforcement. ALPRs are mounted camera devices used in police cars to scan the license plates on every car in its vicinity. The information collected by the devices are stored in databases and are often used to locate stolen vehicles. However, the ACLU is concerned that ALPRs can be another method for unwarranted surveillance of law-abiding motorists. Schwartz stated:

It’s a victory for free speech. Internet users, whether they’re on laptops, tablets, or phones are the winners.

The Chicago Sun-Times published an editorial about a measure introduced in the Illinois General Assembly that would place modest regulations on the use of automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) by law enforcement. ALPRs are mounted camera devices used in police cars to scan the license plate number of every car in its vicinity. The bill, which the ACLU of Illinois drafted and is sponsored by State Senator Daniel Biss, would create guidelines for their use including how the data collected is stored. While ALPRs are helpful to police in tracking stolen vehicles, they are also powerful surveillance tools that have the potential to infringe on the privacy rights of law-abiding Illinois motorists.

For more than two decades, the ACLU of Illinois has worked to improve conditions for children under the care of the child welfare agency, the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Last week, the ACLU was in court on our motion to jump start reforms at DCFS after months of fruitless negotiations failed to make necessary changes at the Department.

A year ago today was a big day for many couples in Cook County.  They were allowed to legally get married. In a case brought by the ACLU of Illinois and our friends at Lambda Legal, a federal court judge in Chicago lifted Illinois' ban on the freedom to marry for same-sex couples, not waiting for June 1st, when Illinois' new marriage equality law went into effect.   It was a joyous day, with lots of couples streaming to the Daley Center to be married.

The Chicago Sun-Times spoke with ACLU of Illinois associate legal director Ben Wolf about the recent filing in federal court urging the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) to immediately address issues causing harm to the thousands of children in its custody. The ACLU of Illinois has represented all foster children in DCFS custody under a consent decree established to uphold a standard of quality in the care and services provided by the agency. Since the consent decree went into effect, the agency has repeatedly failed to provide adequate health and education services for the children. Also, because fewer children being placed in home-like settings in their communities, many of them are housed in overcrowded facilities and are exposed to abuse and neglect. Ben Wolf states:

The Chicago Sun-Times spoke with ACLU of Illinois associate legal director Ben Wolf about the Governor's plans for spending cuts, which leaked ahead of his inaugural budget address. The proposed cuts to funding for the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) would end services to former foster children over 18. The ACLU has been representing children under DCFS' care for decades under a consent decree designed to keep the agency committed to a standard of care to ensure quality services for foster children in DCFS custody. Just this week, the ACLU has asked a federal judge to jump-start reforms at the agency as a result of ongoing problems in order to bring DCFS back into compliance.

“Go home – you’re useless to us right now.”