ACLU of Illinois

We are excited to announce the 2024 ACLU Lunch on Friday, March 1st! The annual ACLU Lunch provides an opportunity to gather with members of the ACLU community from across Illinois to celebrate the work to protect and expand civil liberties, recommit to the fight ahead, and raise funds critical to our work. Find more information about the event and purchase your ticket to attend:

The ACLU Lunch: Fighting For A More Perfect Union Please join the ACLU of Illinois for our annual Lunch on Friday, March 1, 2024 at 12:00 PM. The event will be held in person at the Hilton Chicago and a virtual livestream will also be available. Whether participants join us in person or virtually, everyone will be able to view the program in its en...

Thank you to all the elected officials and advocates who supported HB 2542 to remove this harmful name change ban.

Your support empowers us to act quickly against attacks on our rights and to advance justice. Please consider a gift of any amount today, to protect civil liberties and civil rights in Illinois and nationwide. Find more information at https://action.aclu.org/give/make-your-year-end-gift-roger-baldwin-foundation-aclu-illinois-today-0

Because of the commitment of supporters and activists like you, the ACLU of Illinois continued to protect and expand civil rights and liberties in 2023. Find out more about this important work, and how you can help support it in our bio link.

2023 In Review In 2023, because of the commitment of supporters and activists like you, the courage of our clients, the work of our dedicated staff, and the on the ground efforts of our partners the ACLU of Illinois continued to protect and expand civil rights and liberties.

Current events are hot discussion topics at many holiday tables. If you want to jump start a conversation about civil liberties, we've put together a list of talking points and resources about some of the ACLU-IL's most urgent work.

Talking Points for the Dinner Table Current events are hot discussion topics at many holiday tables. If you want to jump start a conversation about civil liberties, please keep reading for talking points about the ACLU’s most urgent work.

Just ten years ago, gay and le***an couples across Illinois were denied the right to marry. This changed with the Governor's signature on legislation this day a decade ago. This hard-won victory was the result of many years of work by advocates, activists, public officials, and organizations in every corner of Illinois.

From marching in Selma, visiting synagogues near Skokie in defense of free speech, and fighting for abortion and LGBTQ+ rights – in her nearly 100 years there was rarely a civil liberties battle that Harriet Hausman was not a part of. Harriet was a tireless supporter and advocate for making sure the protections of the Constitution protected all of us. We were lucky at the ACLU-IL to benefit and be inspired by her unwavering dedication, wit, and kindness during her 35 years as a Board member. Civil liberties has lost one of its greatest defenders.

Congratulations to the local residents who showed up and spoke out against this ordinance. Abortion is a right in Illinois.

Banning the teaching of books is censorship.

Libraries across Illinois continue to see attempts to ban books in their local communities.

This Banned Books Week we're fighting to make sure everyone can read and learn free from censorship. Find resources to fight book bans in your community: https://www.aclu-il.org/en/campaigns/protecting-first-amendment-your-community

Across the Midwest we have seen a rise in book bans at the local level and statewide initiatives to censor and erase marginalized identities. Join the ACLU of Illinois, ACLU of Indiana, ACLU of Missouri, ACLU of Nebraska, and ACLU of Wisconsin for a virtual conversation on October 12 as we discuss the wide range of censorship issues and how you can play a role in activating your community to push back. https://action.aclu.org/event/il-banned-books-across-midwest

Celebrate Banned Book Week by joining us for read-ins across the state! Come gather at local community spaces with other book lovers to read from your favorite banned books, and shed light on the book banning and censorship challenges faced both in Illinois and across the nation. Find more information about all of these events, and sign up to join us: https://www.aclu-il.org/en/events/right-learn-fighting-book-bans-and-censorship

Starting today someone will only be jailed pretrial if a judge determines their release would endanger others, or that there is a high risk they would flee. Not because they simply do not have enough wealth to buy their freedom.

Come delve into the critical issues of book bans and content censorship with the ACLU of Illinois and our Champaign County Chapter on Sunday, October 1! Hear from a panel of issue area experts and community members and attend an empowering workshop on effective public speaking at local meetings. We will also touch on Illinois’ recent Banned Books law, the battle for free expression, and how you can make a difference by using your voice to defend the First Amendment. https://www.aclu-il.org/en/events/right-learn-fighting-book-bans-and-censorship

Policies that criminalize people who use drugs are harmful and do not reduce overdose deaths. For International Overdose Awareness Day, Illinois must rethink its approach of harsh felony penalties for drug possession, shifting to a public health approach that puts state resources into recovery instead of punishment.

Join us at the End Overdose Now Illinois Rally and Resource Fair on Monday, August 28 from 3-7PM at Federal Plaza in Chicago put together by Illinois Harm Reduction & Recovery Coalition. Come find us at our table, among the resources from many amazing organizations.

A month away from ending money bond in Illinois, our director of criminal justice policy Ben Ruddell wrote a piece in the Chicago Sun Times about the importance of implementing and supporting this historic change in our state.

Politicians and others who opposed ending cash bail now have a duty to help make the law work Further attempts to sabotage the Pretrial Fairness Act would disregard the will of many Illinoisans and jeopardize public safety, a top ACLU official writes.

Fair housing is a human right. These “No-Evictions” policies unfairly shut out families from housing opportunities even when the eviction case was dismissed or was filed years ago. Given the pernicious history of housing discrimination in Chicago and across Cook County, it is critical to address this continuing driver of discrimination and segregation.

Please join the ACLU of Illinois, American Constitution Society- Chicago Lawyer Chapter, Mayer Brown, and Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) on Wednesday, August 2 at 12:00 PM, for our annual Supreme Court hybrid event. https://www.aclu-il.org/en/events/supreme-court-2023

The court’s majority upheld every argument about the constitutionality of ending money bond. The law will go into effect on September 18th, 2023.

Two decades after Illinois began collecting and analyzing data about traffic stops, Black and Latino drivers continue to be stopped at higher rates across the state.

The lawsuit’s description of horrific conditions at the facility mirror the findings of a recent report by the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice. These conditions are present in a facility that detains youth as young as 11 years old.

The lawsuit filed today asks a federal court to prohibit CPD from targeting predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods for a high volume of traffic stops, bar the use of traffic stops as simply an excuse to search for contraband like weapons or drugs, and end traffic stop quotas, among other requests.

It’s been one year since the Supreme Court recklessly stripped away the constitutional right to abortion care. We continue to fight to make sure that abortion remains a fundamental right and accessible in Illinois.

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