News & Commentary

Overcrowding at the Cook County Juvenile Detention Facility is falling, the Chicago Tribune reports. An agreement was reached in 2002 as a result of an ACLU of Illinois lawsuit to address population and safety concerns within the facility. In 2007, Earl Dunlap was appointed to run the facility and was tasked with addressing overpopulation. While overcrowding was the main concern of the lawsuit, other issues have yet to be tackled, including concerns over unsanitary conditions, and even violence by staff against the youth.

Over the past few years, the ACLU of Illinois has been working to ensure that transgender individuals who were born in Illinois are able to obtain an Illinois birth certificate with the correct gender marker.  Recently, we reached an agreement, in the form of a proposed consent decree with the State of Illinois that insures that individuals can obtain a new, accurate birth certificate without being forced to undergo genital surgery that they may not need or want, or that may not be available to them.  The court has preliminarily approved the consent decree. The next step in the process is for the judge to hold a "fairness hearing" on the matter -- set for October 23, 2012.  If you believe you are a member of the class of those affected by the settlement (the class definition is listed below), you are permitted to make comments about or objections to the proposed consent decree before it receives final approval.  You can find the details below, or by downloading this PDF.

Recently, the ACLU and numerous allied coalition partners wrote to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to request that HHS issue guidance to make clear that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s prohibition on sex discrimination applies to discrimination based on gender identity and sex stereotypes.  The fact that someone is transgender or does not conform to stereotypical notions of masculinity and femininity should never be a barrier to accessing health care services.

The New York Times reported on a new analysis of Department of Education data that says that students with disabilities are almost two times as likely to be suspended from their school as non-disabled students. The article also discussed school districts, some in Illinois, where the suspension rates for students of minority races are significantly higher than those of white students. The ACLU said schools facing these problems should look to other schools for answers about how to fix it.  The ACLU, which advocates on behalf of people with disabilities, believes all students have the right to be in school.