Talking Liberties with the ACLU of Illinois

Efforts to ban books in public and school libraries across the country has more than doubled in the past year. In this episode we were joined by Deborah Stone-Caldwell, director of the Office of Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association, and Rebecca Glenberg, Senior Supervising Attorney at the ACLU of Illinois to discuss the threats to challenged books across country and in Illinois, and what each of us can do to fight back against these threats in our own communities.

In 2018, ICE conducted a series of controversial raids across the Chicago area using traffic stops and other techniques to detain hundreds of individuals for immigration violations. In this episode, we are joined by Antonio Gutierrez, an organizer with Organized Communities Against Deportations (OCAD)and Mark Fleming, a lawyer from the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) to discuss those raids, the lawsuit filed in response to the arrests, and how the settlement will change ICE practices in Illinois and across the country.

Illinois currently has one of the most restrictive laws name change laws in the country – a law that bans people from being able to change their names for at least ten years. On this episode we discussed the harms that this law imposes and efforts in Springfield to remove this unjust restriction. We were joined by advocates Eisha Love, a transgender activist, and Avi Rudnick a lawyer and the Director of Scattered Site Housing at Chicago House and a Board member of the Transformative Justice Law Project of Illinois Name Change Mobilization which helps transgender people change their names.

Even as Roe hangs by a thread, there are countless barriers to make abortions difficult, even impossible for people to access. On this episode we were joined by Representative Jan Schakowsky, Megan Jeyifo and Aalap Bommaraju from the Chicago Abortion Fund, and Ameri Klafeta from the ACLU of Illinois to talk about how the stigmatization of abortion has allowed for policies like the Hyde Amendment and PNA to continue to restrict access to abortion – and the consequences of that here in Illinois and across the country.

Illinois has  a new law updating and adding to the standards for how personal health and sexual health education is taught in this state. We sat down with Scout Bratt, Outreach & Education Director at Chicago Women's Health Center and Chelsea Diaz, our Advocacy Associate to find out more about what the Keeping Youth Safe and Healthy Act includes, and what more we can do to ensure comprehensive and inclusive sex education is taught in Illinois.

In 2019, Jaylan Butler – an innocent college student returning from a swim meet on his team's bus – was taken to the ground and had a gun held to his head by police officers in Illinois. Jaylan bravely filed a lawsuit against those officers to hold them accountable for their actions, and that case was recently resolved. We speak with Jaylan about his story, and with ACLU of Illinois Police Practices Staff Attorney Rachel Murphy on how traumatic police interactions continue to harm communities of color throughout Illinois and our country.

We all want young people to be able to talk to their parents about important life decisions. However, the idea that the government can force healthy family interactions ignores reality for many youth and the lasting injuries that result from enforcing these laws. That is why the Parental Notice of Abortion Act (PNA) is dangerous in Illinois and must be repealed. We are joined by Emily Werth, ACLU of IL Women's and Reproductive Rights Project Staff Attorney, as well as two experts who have seen the harms of PNA up close: Dr. Rebecca Commito, an obstetrician and gynecologist in Chicago, and Retired Judge Susan Fox Gillis. You can also learn more about SB 2190 and take action by going to: https://www.aclu-il.org/en/legislation/sb-2190-repeal-pna

From 2016 to 2018, 20,000 people in Illinois were convicted of felonies for possessing small amounts of drugs, and 7,500 were imprisoned. On this episode of Talking Liberties, we are joined by a panel of experts and survivors to discuss why it is time to unwind the War on Drugs and install a public health approach to reducing the harms associated with drug use. We are joined by Lake County Sheriff John Idleberg, Elizabeth Cruz with the Women's Justice Institute, Alex Mathiesen with Live4Lali, and Dr. Juleigh Konchak with the Cook County Public Health Department. You can also learn more about HB 3447 and take action at aclu-il.org/en/legislation/reducing-barriers-to-recovery.

We are joined by ACLU of Illinois Advocacy and Intergovernmental Affairs Director Khadine Bennett to talk through the initiatives we are advancing in Springfield in 2021, including ending qualified immunity, reforming drug sentencing and protecting personal privacy, among other issues.

Passionate about a public or legislative issue that affects you, your family, or friends? Looking to make your voice heard with the most impact? We have got you covered! This episode, we are joined by ACLU of Illinois Advocacy Associate Chelsea Diaz to talk through the 'how-to's' on the best ways to reach your state legislators, effective organizing in Springfield, how a bill becomes a law in Illinois, and more.

Human Rights Watch and the ACLU of Illinois recently collaborated on a report - "The Only People It Really Affects Are the People It Hurts: The Human Rights Impacts of Parental Notice of Abortion in Illinois” -which concluded that PNA is dangerous for youth in the state, violates their human rights, and threatens their health and safety. We speak with Margaret Wurth from Human Rights Watch and Davina DiPaolo from ACLU of Illinois to discuss the report and why Illinois state legislators act swiftly to repeal this harmful law.

For a century, the American Civil Liberties Union has fought to keep Americans in touch with the founding values of the Constitution. In this episode of Talking Liberties, we speak with Ellis Cose, the author who literally wrote the book on the subject - Democracy, If We Can Keep It: The ACLU’s 100-Year Fight for Rights in America, who takes us through the series of monumental events and decisions that forged the ACLU into the organization it is today.

As #TransgenderAwarenessWeek comes to a close, we sat down with ACLU of Illinois LGBTQ and HIV Project Director John Knight to look at the big picture regarding the fight for transgender rights here at home and across the country. We also discuss John's work representing Aimee Stephens, who was part of a landmark Supreme Court decision this year that clearly determined it discrimination under federal civil rights statutes to fire someone because they are transgender.

Got questions about voting in Illinois ahead of November 3rd? We've got answers! In this episode, we speak with Matt Dietrich, Public Information Officer at the Illinois State Board of Elections, and Michelle Hernandez, ACLU of Illinois Advocacy Associate, to discuss changes to election laws in 2020, early voting, voting by mail, voting in jails or with a record, and much more.

Transgender people are too often exposed to horrific abuse in prison, facing physical and sexual assault at much higher rates than other prisoners. And experts recognize that denying someone the health care they need for gender dysphoria causes transgender people serious and lasting harm. For this episode, we speak with Taylor Brown, staff attorney with ACLU National, about a new lawsuit filed on behalf of Cristina Nichole Iglesias, who has been denied critical medical care and routinely abused during her time housed in federal corrections facilities for men, as well as Ghirlandi Guidetti, staff attorney with the ACLU of Illinois, about our ongoing litigation to protect transgender people in prisons in Illinois.

The U.S. Postal Service is a pillar of our democracy - and it's currently under siege. Protecting our right to vote-by-mail will be essential this November, as millions of Americans from all 50 states use this option as the safest way to vote during the COVID-19 crisis. We are joined by U.S. Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, who talks to us about questioning Postmaster General Louis DeJoy this week as a member of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and what we can do to protect the U.S. Post Office.

Americans are reimagining our fundamental notions about policing, especially in response to the continued killings of Black and Brown people by police officers. For too long, we have prioritized policing over other community resources. We speak with ACLU of Illinois Police Practices Staff Attorney Elizabeth Jordan about the steps we can take to reimagine how policing works and how we can continue to hold officers accountable for their actions.

Talking Liberties with the ACLU of Illinois returns with our 20th episode, recording from our own homes during the COVID-19 outbreak. We speak with our Executive Director Colleen Connell about how the pandemic has touched all areas of our work - including reproductive rights, people in prisons, law enforcement, and more - and how we can work together to protect our civil liberties during this unprecedented emergency.

Welcome to a bonus episode of Talking Liberties. On Saturday, February 29th, the ACLU hosted a candidate’s forum for the office of Cook County State’s Attorney. We were pleased to be joined by Bill Conway, former Chicago City Alderman Bob Fioretti, and current Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. We bring you that discussion in full here. We also sent questionnaires to the candidates running, asking each to share their positions on crucial civil liberties issues. You can read their responses on our website – aclu-il.org - before you vote on March 17th.

More than one in four transgender people have lost a job due to bias, and more than three-fourths have experienced some form of workplace discrimination. Refusal to hire, privacy violations, harassment, and even physical and sexual violence on the job are common occurrences, and are experienced at even higher rates by transgender people of color. Our client Judi Brown, an African-American transgender woman, was fired from national convenience store chain Circle K after she complained about the harassment and discrimination she experienced. Judi joins us to discuss her experience - we also speak with her lawyer, ACLU of Illinois Staff Attorney Carolyn Wald, about the many challenges facing transgender employees in our state and across the country.

In 2017, the Illinois legislature passed the TRUST Act, which prohibits local law enforcement from holding a person based on a “detainer” issued by immigration authorities unless presented with a signed judicial warrant. However, three men recently filed lawsuits after they were arrested for minor traffic infractions and detained by the Sheriffs in Ogle and Stephenson Counties until federal immigration authorities came to pick them up, even after they already had posted bond. On this episode, we speak with Mony Ruiz-Velasco, Executive Director of PASO – West Suburban Action Project, and ACLU of IL Immigrant Rights’ Attorney Aarón Siebert-Llera about these lawsuits and a new campaign to ensure uniform enforcement of the TRUST Act across Illinois.

Concerns about protecting your personal information online continue to grow, especially from its use by corporations and the government. Emerging technologies – including facial recognition and mobile fingerprinting software – are making our ability to protect our digital privacy more difficult than ever, if not impossible. On this episode, we speak with Adam Schwartz, Senior Staff Attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, about what we can do to shield ourselves from invasive surveillance technology, as well as the importance of the groundbreaking Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.

Last week, School District 211 announced it was proposing a new policy that would grant transgender students unrestricted access to the locker room of the student's gender identity and end the use of privacy stalls. This is a long-deserved victory for our clients Student A, Nova Maday, and every student who is transgender who has ever walked the halls of a D211 high school. In a special edition of TALKING LIBERTIES, we speak with Nova about her experience and what she hopes this means for the future.

It was a marathon legislative session in Springfield this Spring, culminating in the passage of several important civil liberties protections including the Reproductive Health Act. ACLU of IL Director of Advocacy and Intergovernmental Affairs Khadine Bennett joins us this episode to fill us in on the backstories of this session and where legislators can go from here to better protect our freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution.

In a special crossover episode recorded with Tom Moss of the Indivisible Chicago podcast, we talk through the Supreme Court's most recent decisions with ACLU National Legal Director David Cole, including the ACLU's recent victory in keeping a citizenship question off the 2020 Census.

Throughout Illinois and across our country, many people are held in jail awaiting trial simply because they are unable to afford the cash bond for their release. The use of these cash bonds also increases racial disparities in the criminal system, as those detained pretrial are more likely to be convicted and receive longer sentences. In this episode, we are joined by Lavette Mayes - who was separated from her children, lost her small business, and spent 14 months in jail because she couldn't post bail - and who was featured in an ACLU animated short that illustrated her story. We are also joined by Sharlyn Grace, Executive Director of the Chicago Community Bond Fund, to discuss how we can reform this harmful system.

Headlines across the country are rife with reports of states adopting legislation to eliminate reproductive health care access for women, including the pernicious "heartbeat" abortion bans in Georgia and Ohio. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer recently warned that the new SCOTUS majority - installed by Donald Trump - are laying the groundwork to overturn Roe v. Wade. Does this mean that abortion could be made illegal in Illinois? This episode, we are joined by two guests to discuss the need to pass the Reproductive Health Act in Illinois, which is currently stalled in Springfield: RHA co-sponsor Illinois Representative Kelly Cassidy discusses why this legislation is so important to pass right now; and ACLU of IL Executive Director Colleen Connell returns to talk through the changes that could happen in Illinois if Roe is overturned, including 24-hour bans and women having to seek spousal consent for an abortion.

As an added bonus to our 10th episode, we recorded an audience Q & A with Mary Meg McCarthy, Executive Director of the National Immigrant Justice Center.

TALKING LIBERTIES celebrates its 10th episode with a live taping at the brand new Hoxton Hotel in Chicago. In front of a live audience, we welcome our guest Mary Meg McCarthy - Executive Director of the National Immigrant Justice Center, one of the nation’s foremost immigrant and human rights advocacy organizations - to discuss the long road to immigration reform and the White House's cruel policies along the Southern border.

Then-State Senator Barack Obama championed a law in 2004 to collect data about traffic and pedestrian stops conducted by police in Illinois. Proposed legislation in Springfield - House Bill 1613 - looks to ensure Obama's legacy and make this data collection permanent. Bill sponsor Rep. Justin Slaughter joins TALKING LIBERTIES to discuss this legislation and we speak with Richard Jackson, a Navy veteran subjected to a bad traffic stop in Chicago. Additionally, a new report from the ACLU of Illinois confirms that racial disparities persist in Illinois traffic stops - Police Practices Staff Attorney Rachel Murphy also joins the show to discuss the results of this report.

The State of Illinois' negligent treatment of prisoners is a problem that has been years in the making. ACLU of Illinois Senior Staff Attorney Camille Bennett joins us to discuss the stories of prisoners who have been harmed - and died - from the state's neglectful care, as well as the ACLU's recent victory in securing a consent decree and monitor to overhaul the inadequate health care system in Illinois.

During the holiday season, it's important to remember those who need help - and their right to ask for it. ACLU of Illinois Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Glenberg joins us to discuss two topics recently in the news: our coalition work to repeal unconstitutional panhandling laws here in Illinois and fighting back against the Trump Administration's cruel proposed changes to "public charge" policies in our country.

Voter suppression efforts in Georgia, North Dakota and many more states have been in the headlines recently. We speak with Sophia Lakin (Staff Attorney, Voting Rights Project) about the ACLU’s current response, including challenges to discriminatory voter identification and registration requirements (“voter suppression by typo”), cutbacks to early voting and same-day registration, and fighting the dilution of minority votes in local elections. Remember: in Illinois, you can register to vote even on election day!

Throughout its almost 100 year history, the ACLU has only opposed four nominees to the Supreme Court. Brett Kavanaugh is one of them. ACLU of Illinois Executive Director Colleen Connell joins us to discuss why the ACLU National Board took this extraordinary step and how it fits into the Trump Administration's larger disregard for the rule of law.

Ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, the ACLU of Illinois speaks with Congressman Mike Quigley (5th District - IL) on election security, Russian cyber-attacks and the state of our electoral system. We also talk with Ami Gandhi (Director of Voting Rights and Civic Empowerment at Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights) about reducing barriers to voting and improving civic participation in Illinois - and whether you can take that "ballot selfie."

This week, the ACLU of Illinois released its public comments on the consent decree draft aimed at reforming the Chicago Police Department. We speak with our Police Practices Director Karen Sheley on the next steps in the decades-long process towards creating a police department that truly serves and protects all Chicagoans. We also need your help in supporting these reforms! Go to: https://action.aclu.org/send-message/il-cpd-reform

After several major decisions coming from the Supreme Court and the surprise retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, the ACLU of Illinois speaks about the future of our civil rights with Sufyan Sohel (Deputy Director & Counsel for CAIR-Chicago)and Professor Geoffrey R. Stone (former Dean of the University of Chicago Law School).

The ACLU of Illinois speaks with Ashley Huebner, the Managing Attorney for the National Immigrant Justice Center’s Asylum Project, for updates on the ongoing immigration crisis. Then we chat with Kelly and Miguel Cervantes - Kelly is active on the Executive Committee of the ACLU of Illinois Next Generation Society and Miguel currently plays Alexander Hamilton in HAMILTON in Chicago.