News & Commentary

In approximately 40 days, Illinois voters will go to the polls. There are many highly-contested races across the State, with many issues driving those races. On that same ballot, you and other voters will have an opportunity to speak out on a matter that the ACLU of Illinois cares about deeply -- unfettered access to birth control.

The State of Illinois has reached -- and passed -- a tipping point and must act now to reduce the number of persons incarcerated in our prisons, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois. In testimony prepared for a hearing today of the legislature's Joint Criminal Justice Reform Committee, the ACLU will tell the Committee that Illinois is no longer able to "provide the adequate, constitutionally-mandated level of care for those adults and juveniles who are incarcerated in the State."   The ACLU of Illinois is currently involved in litigation challenging conditions of confinement in all the State's juvenile justice facilities as well as a separate case that points out the flaws in the healthcare system operated within the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Progress Illinois posted an article about the ACLU of Illinois' recommended guidelines on the use of body cameras by law enforcement in Illinois. In the wake of the events in Ferguson, Missouri and the police shooting death of an unarmed teenager, law enforcement agencies across the country have expressed interest in the use of body cameras to encourage transparency and accountability in the oversight of police forces. The guidelines, released last week, outline numerous privacy concerns that need to be weighed before any implementation can begin. Yohnka stated:

The Chicago Tribune has published an article today exploring the Right to Die movement, which is gaining momentum throughout the country. On Wednesday, Chicago will play host to a sold-out convention that will discuss the topic of assisted dying. Oregon, Montana, Vermont and Washington are the only states that have laws allowing people access to life-ending medications. Oregon's Death with Dignity Act requires citizens to meet certain specific criteria in order to be given access to medications that induce sleep, and then within hours, death. The Tribune spoke with ACLU of Illinois' Khadine Bennett:

The Chicago Tribune published an article about the possibility of Chicago Police wearing body cameras as a way to decrease police misconduct in the wake of the events in Ferguson, Missouri. As a result of the growing concern of police brutality throughout the country, body cameras have been considered as a potential solution by creating more oversight and transparency of law enforcement at large. However, the ACLU has suggested some basic privacy guidelines for their use that would address: notice to civilians; when to record; retention of images; and, disclosure of images. The Tribune spoke with ACLU of Illinois Communications and Public Policy Director Ed Yohnka:

Once again, the Chicago Tribune reports that the number of child abuse and neglect related deaths in Chicago continues to be high, only this time, the numbers may actually be the highest they have ever been. For decades, the ACLU of Illinois has monitored the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) as a result of a consent decree aimed to improve the care and services for children in its custody. The consent decree outlined a limit to the number of cases a DCFS social worker can have, so that they are able to fully accommodate new child abuse and neglect cases. DCFS states that the new numbers may not be accurate due to the efficacy of their data collection process. The Chicago Tribune spoke with ACLU of Illinois' Ben Wolf: 

ACLU of Illinois senior staff counsel Adam Schwartz joined State Senator Daniel Biss and several privacy experts at the Skokie Public Library for a forum entitled "Rethinking Privacy in a Digital Age."  The event coincided with the signing of the location tracking bill, a key ACLU legislative priority which was sponsored by Senator Biss. Additionally, the ACLU of Illinois has worked with Biss to pass measures that would place sensible regulations on the use of surveillance drones by law enforcement and also privately, by individuals. On the issue of these new technologies, Schwartz stated:

The events in Ferguson have created a vigorous discussion around issues of police accountability and oversight of law enforcement in the United States.  One idea advanced by many is the notion of having police-civilian interactions recorded by small, mobile video cameras, known as "body cams."  The ACLU of Illinois sees the value of utilizing this emerging technology (mobile video cameras) in this fashion as long as there are adequate safeguards for personal privacy.  Below is a memorandum developed by the ACLU of Illinois outlining the privacy safeguards we believe necessary to keep the focus on accountability and oversight of police, and preventing the use of body cams from becoming another broad surveillance tool. 

The New York Times editorial board voiced in on the recent ruling in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that struck down bans on same-sex marriage in Wisconsin and Indiana on Thursday. Arguments were made last week as to why the states should be able to reinstate bans on same-sex marriage, due to a previous ruling that the bans were unconstitutional. The case in Wisconsin was brought with the assistance of John Knight, LGBT Project Director for the ACLU of Illinois. The Times editorial lauded Judge Richard Posner's opinion, in which he stated: