Democratic Party of Evanston

On the Issues

Civil Liberties

UPDATE: on May 4, 2003, the membership of the Democratic Party of Evanston unanimously passed a resolution urging:

the repeal of the USA Patriot Act,
prevention of any further Acts designed to restrict or infringe on our Consitutional Civil Liberties,
vigilence by state and local authorities regarding the implementation of the existing law and related Executive Orders
and passage of additional resolutions in protest by state and local authorities.

Read the full text of the resolution.

Stop the infringement on our civil liberties as begun in with the USA Patriot Act.

Note the following information and/or links are not endorsed by the Board of Directors of the Democratic Party of Evanston nor do they necessarily represent the views of the Board or the organization.

Links:

On October 26, the USA PATRIOT Act was hurriedly and quietly passed through congress in the middle of an anthrax attack. Many US Senators and Representatives are saying that they never even really had a chance to read this 342 page document. Since that time, there have been numerous other Acts and Initiatives that seriously endanger civil liberties. Added to these Acts and Initiatives is the possibility of another even more sweeping PATRIOT II. There are serious constitutional problems with the Patriot Acts and the various other Acts and Initiatives that blur the difference between legitimate political speech and acts of terrorism. Among other things, they can suspend due process and water down judicial review. The government now has the power to read your medical records, scrutinize your credit card bills, search your home or business without telling you, wiretap your phone and snoop on your library records and book purchases.

In response to the passage of the PATRIOT Act and these other Initiatives, the city councils of approximately 30 cities and towns across the country… from big cities like Detroit and San Francisco to smaller towns like Boulder, CO and Madison, WI have passed Resolutions to Defend the Constitution and Bill of Rights. This is what we are trying to do here in Evanston.

Members of the Evanston Civil Liberties Coalition presented a draft Resolution to the Human Relations Commission on January 22, after which the Commission moved to have a public hearing to reach the larger Evanston community. This public hearing will provide more information about the Patriot Acts and offer an opportunity for open debate and discussion (the FOUNDATION of democracy and freedom). Then the Evanston Civil Liberties Coalition, in conjunction with the Human Relations Commission will, hopefully, begin the process of working on a final version of the resolution to present to the city council for its vote. Already such organizations as Neighbors for Peace, the North Suburban Peace Initiative, Chicago Media Watch, The League of Women Voters, the ACLU of Illinois and the NAACP have joined the Coalition. We expect that many other key organizations will follow suit. In addition, we want to reach out to as many individuals as possible. Many people have not heard about the Patriot Act and the other initiatives and have no idea about the dangers they present to their lives and to future generations.

The public hearing will take place on March 6 at 7pm at the Civic Center, 2nd floor City Council Chamber. All are welcome! The issue of civil liberties is at the heart of our country's strength and we must do all we can to protect our freedom… especially in these most difficult of times.