[ACLU-CU ALERT] Champaign County ACLU updates and informational items for March

Mon Mar 6 14:51:14 EST 2023

Hello ACLU members and friends!

See below for March updates and informational items. Consolidating in one
email to avoid email overkill.

*1.)  **Champaign County would welcome nominations for Annual Community
Service (Chalmers Award) and Lifetime Achievement Awards (Stone Award)*

The link below will show you that the Chalmers Award can be to an
individual or local organization.

*http://www.aclu-cu.org/awards.shtml <http://www.aclu-cu.org/awards.shtml>*

If you know of a civil rights and liberties contribution by a local
individual or group, please send a brief description of your suggested
honoree to carolleff1947 at gmail.com

*2.) ACLU and NAACP jointly recommended changes to Urbana FOP contract*

ACLU Illinois legal team studied the proposed Urbana Fraternal Order of
Police contract. We wrote on behalf of the local ACLU and NAACP to share
concern about how the contract negotiated with the Fraternal Order of
Police negotiating unit conflict with the Department's own Use of Force
Policy
<https://urbanaillinois.us/sites/default/files/attachments/Use_of_Force_2021.pdf>
and
the Ten Shared Principles
<https://www.urbanaillinois.us/tensharedprinciples>. The side letter the
Civilian Police Review Board is of particular concern. The mayor and
sheriff met with us to listen, but these concerns were not addressed.

The Council is to vote on the unaltered contract on Monday March 6th: Meeting
Information Here
<https://urbana-il.municodemeetings.com/bc-citycouncil/page/committee-whole-meeting-13>
:

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/jane?projector=1

Send comments here: CityCouncil at UrbanaIllinois.us

*3.) Hunger strikers at Champaign County Jail invoke 8th Amendment Rights:
Informational Item*

Protesting unaffordable bails, inadequate access to resources to prepare
their defense and difficulties communicating with loved ones, several
inmates undertook a hunger strike in the Champaign County Jail starting
February 25. As of today, the hunger strike is still on-going.

ACLU Champaign County is holding a watching brief on developments, although
we are not organizing anything or advocating this specific action—hunger
strikes are a complicated issue.

But an informational update might be useful for those who wish to follow
this strike as raising a constitutional challenge on the question of the
right to a bail that is not excessive.

There will also be a rally at the County jail at 3PM (Monday March 6). 502
S. Lierman.

There is no comprehensive coverage of the strike in the media, but below
are links to a few pieces of coverage and commentary. Unfortunately, we
can’t find that  this issue is covered in the News Gazette local newspaper
to date. What little we could find is linked below.

There is scant coverage for anyone to make a fully informed judgment.

Brian Dolinar has talked to at least one striker and some strikers’
families and gives the families’ perspective

https://www.smilepolitely.com/culture/theres-a-hunger-strike-happening-at-the-champaign-county-jail/

https://briandolinar.substack.com/p/hunger-strike-expands-to-17-people

WBBM Chicago

https://omny.fm/shows/wbbmam-on-demand/some-champaign-county-jail-inmates-start-hunger-st

WCIA coverage:
https://www.wcia.com/video/champaign-county-jail-inmates-protest-high-bonds-with-a-hunger-strike/8443544/

That’s all we could find

*4.) HB3373 - Earned Reentry Bill*

Hearings for the Earned Reentry bill, sponsored by Carol Ammons, are slated
for this coming Tuesday. The bill provides a mechanism for evaluating
people with long sentences and allowing them to return to their families
and communities when they are judged to be ready. The goal of the
legislation is to provide a regular mechanism for parole review. ACLU
Illinois will be supporting this bill but has not yet posted its own
characterization of it and why it is needed.

Until then, another statewide organization that summarizes the issues (from
a supporters viewpoint) is in the link below

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/jane/FMfcgzGrcrsMzqmMKcKlLfxksxdtBBSG?projector=1

*The Earned Reentry bill is scheduled to be heard by the House
Judiciary-Criminal Committee on Tuesday March 7th and you can weigh in by
filing a witness slip on the bill if this is an issue you care about.  But
ONLY on your own behalf as an individual—never speak for an organization if
you are not their decisionmaker. *

If you have never filed a witness slip, know that it does NOT commit you to
actually testifying, but merely records your position one way or another,
as an individual. ACLU Illinois has information on filing witness slips
below *(note again that you file a witness slip as an individual not an
organization unless you are in the position to speak for a whole
organization, which is rarely the case):*

https://www.aclu-il.org/en/illinois-witness-slip-faq

Here is the witness slip for this particular bill

https://my.ilga.gov/WitnessSlip/Create/148538?committeeHearingId=19839&LegislationId=148538&LegislationDocumentId=185108&GridCurrentCommittees-page=6

*5. Court Challenge to the Illinois Pretrial Fairness Act*

As you probably know, the Pretrial Fairness Act on bail reform, which ACLU
strongly supports, is currently subject to a court challenge.  Oral
arguments before the Illinois Supreme Court Tuesday March 7 can be watched
on a vimeo platform

https://livestream.com/blueroomstream/events/10782499

The court session starts at 9AM but not clear which of several oral
argument hearings go first
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://aclu-cu.org/pipermail/announce_aclu-cu.org/attachments/20230306/ae0711cc/attachment-0001.html>