[ACLU-CU ALERT] Fwd: Please file a witness slip in support of the License to Work Act (SB 1786)

[Champaign County ACLU Announcements]

DEAR CHAMPAIGN COUNTY ACLU friends,



We write to request witness slips in support of *SB 1786 (Aquino/Ammons)*,
the License to Work Act, which eliminates driver’s license suspension as a
penalty for unpaid parking tickets and most other non-moving violations.
This bill passed the Senate with strong bipartisan support and is being
considered in the House. SB 1786 is scheduled for a hearing *this* *Wednesday,
May 1 at 10:00am in the House Transportation-Vehicles and Safety Committee*.
Please *scroll down* to find a link where you can complete a slip very
easily.



*The Problem: Nearly 50,000 Illinois licenses are suspended each year
because drivers can’t pay tickets, fines, or fees and for other non-moving
violations – reasons that have nothing to do with driving.*

We do not believe that driver’s license suspension should be used to
penalize people for their poverty. Transportation is critical for
employment and opportunity, and when licenses are taken away from good
drivers and workers, we all lose—job seekers, workers, employers, and the
taxpayers paying to enforce counterproductive policies.

   - *Stripping people of their licenses causes job loss.* A New Jersey
   study <http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/pdf/About/AFTF_final_02.pdf> found
   that 42% of individuals lost their jobs following the suspension of their
   licenses.
   - Unnecessary suspensions of safe drivers are a *burden on the criminal
   justice system*. 75%
   <http://www.aamva.org/Suspended-and-Revoked-Drivers-Working-Group/>
   percent of suspended drivers continue to drive. Arresting and incarcerating
   good drivers strains already lean public safety budgets. On average, it
   takes about 9 hours
   <http://www.aamva.org/Suspended-and-Revoked-Drivers-Working-Group/> to
   arrest and prosecute someone caught driving without a license.
   - *The impact is disproportionate. *Black and Latino drivers are more
   likely than white drivers
   <http://www.aclu-il.org/racial-disparity-in-consent-searches-and-dog-sniff-searches/>
   to be stopped by the police, to be fined or arrested for traffic offenses,
   and to suffer undue fines or incarceration.

*To file a witness slip:*

1. Go to this link:

http://my.ilga.gov/WitnessSlip/Create/119273?committeeHearingId=17078&LegislationId=119273&LegislationDocumentId=150398&HCommittees5%2F6%2F2019-page=1&committeeid=0&chamber=H&nodays=7&_=1556552305361

2. *Fill out the form* with your information or *LOG ON*. If you do not
represent a firm or organization, please write "*self."*

3. To indicate your support for the bill, please click *“PROPONENT."*

4. For testimony - Choose *"record of appearance only." *

5. To submit the slip, click the button *"create slip."*

THANK YOU!
ACLU of Champaign County
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