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Home » ACLU Insider » Archives » June 2007 Archives
June 2007 Archives Roberts, Alito and the Rule of Law June 29, 2007 In their Senate confirmation hearings, John Roberts and Samuel Alito cast themselves as as first-rate lawyers committed to the rule of law and, especially, to the principle of stare decisis. Roberts assured the Senate that judges must "be bound down by rules and precedents." He piously declared that the Framers of the Constitution "appreciated the role of precedent in promoting evenhandedness, predictability, stability," and "integrity in the judicial process." Although acknowledging that it is sometimes necessary for judges to reconsider precedents, he stressed that this should be reserved for exceptional circumstances. "A sound judicial philosophy," he declaimed, must recognize that judges work "within a system of rules developed over the years by other judges equally striving to live up to the judicial oath." read more » From the Chicago Tribune: Chicago schools not affected by high court ruling, officials say June 28, 2007 Chicago Public Schools officials said Thursday's U.S. Supreme Court decision rejecting school integration plans in Seattle and Louisville, Ky., should not have any immediate affect on the district, because Chicago is still governed by a 1980 consent decree that put the district's desegregation efforts under federal oversight. While the district's law department is still reading through the high court's decision, spokesman Michael Vaughn said district lawyers believe that the federal consent decree takes precedence over the Supreme Court decision. The decree was put in place after the Justice Department had sued Chicago to force it to integrate. The decree was a voluntary settlement that avoided a lengthy legal battle. read more » ACLU Benefit: Too Much Light Pride Show! June 22, 2007 The NeoFuturists will be performing their annual Pride show this Saturday, and all proceeds benefit the ACLU of Illinois' Youth at Risk Project. Learn more: http://neofuturists.blogspot.com/2007/06/world-premiere-preview-giant-sized.html. read more » Title IX - A Celebration of 35 Years June 22, 2007 
On June 23, 1972, Title IX, an unprecedented effort to end sex discrimination in education, became the law of the land. While most famous for its requirement that schools provide girls with equal athletic opportunities, the law applies to all educational programs that receive federal funding, and to all aspects of a school's educational system. Title IX benefits both males and females and is the lynchpin of thirty-five years of efforts to promote and establish gender equity in schools. Check out a podcast and more info at: http://www.aclu.org/womensrights/edu/titleix.html. read more »Unabridged June 20, 2007  Unabridged, from spoken word artists Steve Connell and Sekou (tha misfit), is a new collection of poetry written especially for the ACLU that celebrates the power of words and captures the passion behind several of our current battles in the courtrooms and in Congress. They've written 5 new pieces for us on Abstinence-Only Sex Education, Habeas Corpus, Surveillance, Free Speech, and Racial Profiling.
Today you can check out Steve Connell's Abstinence-Only poem, "The fallacy of unicorns": http://www.aclu.org/unabridged. read more »From the Chicago Tribune: "County opposes receiver for center" June 19, 2007 Cook County officials opposed the appointment of a receiver to take over key operations at the beleaguered Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, according to documents filed late Friday in U.S. District Court. The officials promised to rush transfer of control over the facility to Timothy Evans, chief judge of the Cook County Circuit court, and revealed in the documents that Judge Evans had appointed Michael Rohan, Circuit Court director of juvenile probation and court services, to lead the transition. The Illinois legislature recently approved a bill to transfer control of the detention center from Cook County to the chief judge as early as Jan. 1. The bill still leaves ultimate authority over purchasing and budgetary decisions with the Cook County Board, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. And it could take months for the transfer to take effect, it said. read more » Civil unions are an issue of fairness June 18, 2007 The Bloomington Pantagraph has published a letter from Central Illinois chapter chair Robert Warfied in support of civil unions. Read the letter and leave a comment: http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/06/16/opinion/letters/doc46721a8b29221900616400.txt. read more » Rapper El-P Addresses Torture and Abuse in Latest Video June 12, 2007 A New York City native, El-P has been a hero of the independent music scene for more than a decade. In a post-9/11 world, his lyrics illuminate many of the ongoing concerns we as Americans confront daily. In his newest album, I'll Sleep When You're Dead, El-P addresses - along with many social issues - the erosion of civil liberties by the Bush administration. Check out the podcast: http://www.aclu.org/safefree/torture/elp.html. read more » From the Chicago Tribune: "State backs U.S. ID foes" June 08, 2007 Illinois has joined a growing number of states encouraging the repeal of a federal law requiring all citizens to have a standardized identification card or driver's license. Late last month, the Illinois Senate joined the House in passing a non-binding resolution that rejects the federal Real ID Act, which mandates that all U.S. citizens have a national identification card by 2013. States are required to implement the program by 2008, and Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has begun hiring personnel to launch the program. read more » From the Chicago Tribune's Voice of the People: "Hope for a bill" June 07, 2007 We are extremely disappointed that House Bill 317, the Adolescent Health Care Safety Act, was rejected recently by the Illinois House. House Bill 317 would have amended the punitive 1995 Parental Notification of Abortion Act by providing a young woman facing an unintended pregnancy with more options. The bill would have ensured that minors consult with a trusted adult before making a difficult decision about terminating or continuing her pregnancy and allowed teens - in those limited circumstances where they cannot tell a parent or another trusted adult family member - to get safe medical attention and quality counseling from caring health care professionals. read more » From the Chicago Tribune's Editorial Page: "Cook County chaos" June 06, 2007 The Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center is out of control. Children languish there like warehoused animals, while millions of dollars are wasted on do-nothing jobs filled by unqualified workers and patronage stooges. ... Kids live in filthy surroundings, with little guidance, under the supervision of workers whose behaviors cheat the residents even more than they cheat Cook County taxpayers. read more » From the Student Press Law Center: "Illinois House approves amended college press freedom bill" June 05, 2007 Student journalists at the state's public universities and community colleges are another step closer to a guarantee that their newspapers are not subject to prior review or restraint. State representatives voted late Thursday evening to pass SB0729, known as the College Campus Press Act, which proposes a law that would effectively void the result of the 2005 Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision in Hosty v. Carter in that state. Jim Ferg-Cadima, legislative counsel for the ACLU of Illinois, said the ACLU looks forward to the support of the governor. However, the bill is virtually veto-proof, he said, because of the legislators' overwhelming support. The house voted 112-2 to pass the bill, and the senate previously passed it unanimously. read more » From the Chicago Sun-Times: "County incapable of fixing juvenile center, critics say" June 04, 2007 With problems such as filthy rooms, dirty laundry and abusive staff at Cook County's juvenile detention center continuing to mount, youth advocates are tired of waiting for county leaders to fix the problems. The ACLU of Illinois asked federal Judge John A. Nordberg to put the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center in receivership Wednesday. The move would give a court-appointed receiver -- a person or an organization -- independent authority to oversee reform. The ACLU's push to take the center out of the county's hands came after an advocate learned in May that no apparent follow-up care was given to a child who had urinated in his cell and was found with a noose around his neck. read more » |
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