It has been a really busy day for civil liberties issues at the Statehouse. Early this morning, the House Human Services Committee advanced the Adolescent Health Care Safety Act, House Bill 317, by a vote of 6 to 2. The legislation repeals the 1995 Parental Notice of Abortion legislation that some officials recently sought to resurrect, and shifts the debate over mandatory parental notice laws to focus on the health care and well-being of vulnerable young women facing an unwanted pregnancy. If you want more information on this legislation, you can go to http://www.aclu-il.org/news/press/2007/02/aclu_of_illinois_calls_on_hous.shtml.

This afternoon, State Representative Greg Harris of Chicago officially introduced the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, House Bill 1615. This means that the public debate and discussion over marriage equality and fairness in Illinois is officially begun. We will be posting a press release on this bill shortly.

All this means that we are really getting into the "busy season" in Springfield -- in a year that promises lots of discussions and debates on ACLU issues. Stay tuned for more.