News & Commentary

On Thursday, an Illinois Supreme Court ruling in People v. Melongo struck down the decades-old eavesdropping law, ruling it as unconstitutional. The law prohibited any citizen from making an audio recording of a conversation deemed as private without getting prior consent from all parties  involved with a violation resulting in a felony charge. The ACLU of Illinois had criticized the law as a violation of the First Amendment. In 2010, the ACLU of Illinois challenged the eavesdropping law as it applied to the audio recording of police officers, in the lawsuit ACLU v. Alvarez. The Chicago Tribune writes:

The Associated Press has an article about the remedial plan to improve conditions in six juvenile justice facilities in Illinois. The plan, released yesterday, comes as a result of a joint settlement reached by the ACLU of Illinois and the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice. The ACLU of Illinois filed a lawsuit in 2012 on behalf of detained youth to address substandard conditions in the  facilities. The remedial plan outlines five areas of improvement including education, mental health treatment, idleness, solitary confinement, community placement, and resources for LGBT youth. The Associated Press spoke with the ACLU of Illinois' Adam Schwartz about the issue of inadequate staffing:

A search to select a new superintendent for the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC) will begin soon, The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin reports. After an ACLU lawsuit claiming substandard conditions and lack of services for youth detained in the facility, the county entered into an agreement in 2002 to monitor its improvement. Earl Dunlap was hired in 2007 to oversee the facility, but now as a result of a change in state law, Cook County Chief Circuit Judge Timothy C. Evans is tasked with finding his replacement.

The Chicago Tribune published an article about a plan that outlines areas of improvement to address substandard conditions within juvenile justice facilities throughout Illinois. The proposed remedial plan, released today and filed in a district court late last week, defines five problem areas within six facilities across the state. Those areas include education, mental health treatment, idleness, solitary confinement, community placement, and rights of LGBT youth who are detained. The plan comes as a result of a settlement between the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice and detained youth represented by the ACLU of Illinois.

An Illinois lawsuit, filed by a humiliated ex-wife, raises constitutional questions about privacy and free speech over what should be allowed to be posted on the internet. The wife claims her ex-husband caused her embarrassment and emotional harm by maliciously posting on the internet intimate pictures taken when they were still a couple. Illinois, and a number of other states across the country, are considering legislation to criminalize the tactics. The ACLU of Illinois is concerned that language of proposed Illinois legislation, as now written, could limit First Amendment rights:

The February 28th unequivocal ruling by Federal Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman that Illinois’ current ban on the freedom to marry for same sex couples is unconstitutional has set off a statewide review at the county level. Cook Count Clerk David Orr’s office immediately began to issue marriage licenses without gender discrimination. Champaign County quickly did the same. The question, since the court ruled, has been whether other county clerks would continue to enforce a ban that a federal court has found to be unconstitutional.

Two hundred and fifty marriage licenses were issued to same sex couples in the week immediately following the ACLU of Illinois and Lambda’s successful federal court petition which led to Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman’s ruling granting marriage equality in Cook County. Marriage licenses application numbers, released by Cook County Clerk David Orr, for the week of February 21 through the 28, show the divergence of professional backgrounds of the applicants as well as a breakdown by gender and residency. More than half of the same sex applicants granted licenses live in Chicago or in one of 55 suburban communities. A dozen couples live in other states including Kentucky, South Carolina and Texas.

Quad Cities Channel 6 TV asked its viewers their reaction to legislation now working its way through the Illinois General Assembly that would criminalize posting, on the internet, sexual images of a former intimate partner. Sponsored by State Senator Michael Hastings (D-OrlandPark) the bill recently passed the Illinois Senate and now awaits House action. It calls for a possible three year prison sentence and a $25,000 fine upon conviction. Comments from Channel 6 viewers focused on the harshness of the prison sentence. Channel 6 also reported that critics of the bill worried that its language was unintentionally too broad and could lead to misapplication if it becomes law as it is now written. Ed Yohnka, ACLU of Illinois Executive Director of Communications, suggested that the language should be redrafted because as currently written it could be used for other purposes:

The destructive impact, at exorbitant fiscal and social costs, of prison solitary confinement was the focus of recent Senate Subcommittee hearings chaired by Senate Richard Durbin (D-IL.).  Since 2010, when the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights first held hearings which exposed the emotional toll of prison solitary confinement, Senator Durbin has called for strict limits on its use by prison authorities. At this week’s hearings he firmly reiterated that solitary confinement is "a human rights issue we can't ignore."  On “All Things Considered,” NPR Justice Correspondent Carrie Johnson highlights the key issues raised during expert testimony before the committee and notes that: