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THE CHICAGO COMMITTEE TO DEFEND THE BILL OF RIGHTS
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THE CHICAGO COMMITTEE TO DEFEND THE BILL OF RIGHTS
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Since the 1960's CCDBR has opposed the many forms of repression of our civil liberties, both nationally and locally. We have formed and joined coalitions with allies, lobbied for legislative and policy changes, participated in protests and demonstrations, and sought to inform the public about the threats to our cherished freedoms and the need to defend them.
In 2007 we reached audiences of well over a hundred at each of two major fundraisers: in March, Sister Helen Prejean, a Nobel peace prize nominee and subject of an Academy award motion picture, spoke of her persistent quest to end the death penalty; in October, we saluted the remarkable Rosen family and provided the opportunity for their friend, internationally known journalist and powerful critic of the media, Greg Palast, to cover topics from racist disregard for Katrina victims to election fraud. In the promotion of both these events, we continued to develop the use of our web site:
Parallel to these large public gatherings, we have been holding briefings for board members and interested visitors dealing with local civil liberties issues. Stan Willis, Larry Kennon, Flint Taylor (People's Law Office), and Locke Bowman (MacArthur Justice Center) have kept us up to date on the range of responses to the Burge police torture cases. Christina Abraham (now a member of our Advisory Board), civil rights chair of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) spoke to us on hate incidents against U.S. Muslims and mistreatment of Muslims classified as "terrorist threats" in U.S. prisons. Michael Deutsch briefed us on the Mohammed Salah case, which resulted in a partial victory for freedom of expression. Most recently we got a full account from Greg Hinton of the emerging National Action Coalition in Chicago, formed primarily to deal with police abuses in the African-American community.
From all these presentations we took inspiration to press our cause and have communicated with U.S. district Judge St. Eve on the Salah case, and with county commissioners and aldermen on the Burge litigation. CCDBR arranged two important meetings between People's Law Office Burge-case lawyers and County Commissioner Mike Quigley. At the federal level, we have made known to our U.S. senators and representatives our positions on issues ranging from immigrants' rights to the Military Commissions Act and the proposed impeachment of Attorney General Gonzalez.
Our pathbreaking educational initiative for high-school students, "Acting Free," has now come to fruition: students at Senn High School are writing plays with a civil-liberties theme that will have a chance of a professional production by our partners, the Pegasus Players. The students are working under the guidance of our CCDBR "civil liberties coach," Christina Abraham. The potential of this unusual program for reaching young people is very substantial; and we hope to get sufficient contributions from our individual supporters and foundations to expand it in 2008-2009.
We have all been dismayed by our national government's use of torture and policy of kidnapping and "extraordinary renditions" to torture centers in countries such as Egypt and Uzbekistan, not to mention Guantanamo. CCDBR is taking the lead in exposing the role of Boeing Corporation in providing logistic "travel services" for these torture flights through its subsdiary Jeppesen Dataplan: we are spearheading a coalition including representatives of CAIR, 8th Day Center for Justice, and "KickBoeingtotheCurb," to hold Boeing to account for its collusion in this most egregious violation of human rights. We are committed to opposing and stopping torture whether it is perpetrated by Chicago police officers or by CIA operatives abetted by a giant corporation headquartered in Chicago.
We are aware that few of our activities come to a dramatic, successful conclusion; and we acknowledge that we must operate with limited resources. But we know that with patience and continuing effort, we can help many small voices merge into one powerful one. In a climate of cynically induced fear, the worst offense is passivity and silence.
As you make your contributions for the end of the calendar year, please consider making a special donation to promote our work, using the enclosed envelope. Monthly contributions from sustainers are especially welcome. If you make your check out to the Bill of Rights Foundation, it will support our educational work and is tax deductible.
No other organization matches what CCDBR does: we CAN continue to make a difference. Members of our board of directors are active on a broad variety of fronts, including prisoners' rights, antiwar efforts, feeding the homeless, and HIV education, as well as civil rights and civil liberties.
We want to express our deepest thanks for the help and financial backing so many of you have already provided in the past year, not to mention the contributions of our sustainers over many years.
Sincerely,
Bob Clarke
for the CCDBR Board
Anyone who imagined that we could relax after the 2006 elections should now be reminded that the vigilant presence of organizations like CCDBR is as necessary as ever, perhaps even more than ever. Despite "opposition party" control of the legislative branch, and despite a long-awaited judicial ruling that Bush's NSA eavesdropping was illegal, Congress stepped in and handed this failed lame-duck president, discredited on every front, even more than he could have thought possible to authorize spying on us. One shudders to imagine what powers Congress would hand the president in the event of another "terrorist attack."
For us in Illinois, the only good news is that both our senators and all our friends in the House of Representatives voted against this legislative fig leaf to cover trashing the Fourth Amendment.
On the Chicago scene, CCDBR maintains its close collaboration with the team working to stop abuses of police power and to achieve justice in the Burge torture cases. We have held frequent briefings for the board and other interested parties on this topic; and we have contributed to the efforts to involve the Cook County Board in the achievement of some justice in this area. The enclosed materials submitted by Flint Taylor provide extensive additional information.
"Acting Free," our educational program for high-school students in collaboration with Pegasus Theater, is to be launched in September. We'll keep you posted.
As always, we need and are grateful for your financial contributions, as well as your suggestions and advice on any of the issues we deal with.
Thanks,
Bob Clarke
Recent board meetings have been preceeded by briefings on civil liberties topics to which we invite our members and supporters. Locke Bowman, head of the MacArthur Justice Center at Northwestern University, briefed us on Burge report lawsuits seeking to hold Mayor Daley and Prosecutor Devine accountable for their failure to acknowledge and stop police torture of suspects. (Later, CCDBR advisory board member Attorney Larry Kennon spoke eloquently on the Burge report to a massed cluster of media at a press conference held just outside City Hall.)
Michael Deutsch, attorney for Mohammed Salah, provided a gripping account of the Salah case, in which a Chicago jury rejected the U.S. government's claim that U.S. citizen Salah, who had been subjected to torture in Israel, was a terrorist conspirator. CCDBR has joined in the effort to persuade U.S. judge St. Eve not to impose an undue sentence on Mr. Salah for the very minor charge on which he was convicted.
Civil liberties challenges facing the Muslim community in America were the subject of another special briefing by Christina Abraham, civil rights coordinator of the Chicago chapter of CAIR: Council on American Islamic Relations, itself an organization under threat for daring to speak up for the rights of Muslims. So impressed was the board by Christina's presentation that we asked her to consider joining our advisory board; and I am happy to report that she has accepted. This is an important step in broadening CCDBR's reach into the full range of Chicago area communities.
At the 22 May 2007 Board meeting, we agreed to express our positions on various issues to appropriate recipients: (1) to Representative Jan Schakowsky commending her for co-sponsoring a resolution to impeach Vice President Cheney; (2) to Senators Durbin and Obama urging them to support the Leahy bill restoring the right of habeas corpus which was "trashed" by the Military Commissions Act; (3) to the Russian Embassy requesting that they transmit to their government our concerns about the threatened repression of a gay/lesbian rights march in Moscow scheduled for 27 May; (4) to members of Congress urging support of the resolution of no-confidence in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
We have received confirmation from University of California/Berkeley scholar Trevor Paglen (co-author of the new book Torture Taxi) of the participation of Boeing Corporation in CIA rendition/torture flights, further strengthening our determination to hold Boeing - headquartered in Chicago - to account.
As always, we thank you for your financial support and welcome any contribution you can make. A CCDBR membership form can be downloaded from our website.
Sincerely,
Bob Clarke
As part of the expansion of our audience, we are opening the first part of our board meeting on Tuesday, March 27, to all supporters who wish to attend - both those who have already become members and others who might be interested. The program, to be held at our office, will consist of two half-hour briefings -- as described above.
After some fits and starts, our "Acting Free" program will be launched in September at Senn High School, where we will join Pegasus Theater in developing and producing student plays on the theme of civil liberties.
We are also pursuing our concerns about participation by the Boeing Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, in "rendition" torture flights. Boeing has responded non-committally to our initial inquiry; and we will be taking further steps to cast light on this operation.
We are most grateful for the financial support so many of you have offered recently; and we need and welcome more of the same!
Sincerely,
Bob Clarke
As reported earlier, we are embarking on a project called "Acting Free," in which CCDBR and Pegasus Theater will collaborate to generate dramas on civil-liberties themes written by high-school students: the best of these have the chance of receiving a full production at Pegasus. Teachers, students, and coaches we plan to provide will work together in this unusual educational effort targeted at the young people whose future is most compromised by the current onslaught on freedom.
We have recently taken note of reports that a subsidiary of the Boeing Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, has carried out "rendition" flights leading to torture of detainees in secret locations. CCDBR has called upon Boeing to meet with us and and answer our questions about such allegations, which have received increasing attention from the European Union parliament and media.
In other areas, CCDBR, with the Chicagoland Coalition of Civil Liberties and Rights and other groups, is participating in efforts to curb police brutality, abolish the death penalty, reform the criminal justice system, protect the rights of vulnerable immigrants - including the - habeas corpus rights just abrogated by the Military Commissions Act, and, of course, oppose the violation of peoples' privacy through government surveillance. As always, our special concern for First Amendment protections requires us to oppose the series of actions of the Chicago city government abridging the right to demonstrate publicly against the Iraq war or for other causes. Dissatisfaction with the "Burge report" on police brutality has led us to join with lawyers for the victims of police torture in approaching the County Board to take action.
As previously announced, we are organizing a major evening event for 15 March 2007 to honor Sister Helen Prejean and her campaign against the death penalty. More details will follow.
The vast majority of our funding comes from individuals who support us in a variety of ways. There is no way can we fully express the depth of our gratitude to our supporters for their help year after year. Being a member and a monthly sustainer of the Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights provides a means of expressing the courage of your convictions.
Become a member by writing your check to CCDBR for whatever you can afford,
$25 ... $50 ... $75 ... $100 ... $500 ... or another amount
If you prefer, pledge an amount each month ... quarter ... year ... or other period
To make your contribution to our educational programs tax-exempt, write your check tothe "Bill Of Rights Foundation."
Send contributions to CCDBR, 1325 S. Wabash, Suite 105, Chicago IL 60605-2506
Again, thank you for making our work possible.
Bob Clarke, President.
Senator Leahy, new chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has said he will introduce a bill to restore the habeas corpus rights gutted in the Military Commissions Law which so disgraced the Congress just prior to the election. But other Democratic leaders have not given even this minimal measure high priority; and of course Bush could veto any change in the law: it's unlikely that the Democrats have a veto-proof majority to restore abridged rights. Whether the Supreme Court will do the job that Congress fails to perform is subject to guesswork and the wavering decisions of one or two justices. Much might depend on the swing vote of Justice Kennedy, a slim reed to rely on for the future of the Bill of Rights.
On the other hand, it is now unlikely that Bush & Co. will be able to shove through the Senate more blind worshippers of executive power, whether to the Appeals Courts or, should a vacancy occur, to the Supreme Court. Considering the precarious protection left in the Supreme Court (after the Roberts and Alito appointments) for formerly recognized rights, that is one gain from the election for which we can be grateful.
Aggressive use of the Congressional powers of investigation; e.g. of Guantanamo or the NSA eavesdropping, could produce some positive results. CCDBR proudly harkens back to our event honoring Congressman John Conyers, who will take over as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Although both he and Nancy Pelosi have said that "impeachment is off the table," the subpoena power of a congressional committee can bring forth information leading who knows where.
We want to help revive the Chicagoland Coalition for Civil Liberties and Rights -- the local coalition effort to match the Chicago City Council resolution against the Patriot Act with a similar resolution by the Illinois legislature. Indeed, the legislative and administrative incursions on civil liberties since the Patriot Act have grown so appalling that we must consider "Patriot Act" to be a shorthand symbol for a whole range of threats.
Some new funding will now enable us to move ahead with our Acting Free program with Pegasus Theater. This program, which will encourage high-school students to develop plays that center on Bill of Rights issues, should grow from a small beginning to signficant proportions.
All who attended our recent celebration of Frank Wilkinson's life left feeling inspired by his example and reinvigorated in our commitment to keep up the struggle he advanced so remarkably. Statements by Frank's widow Donna, Rachel Rosen DeGolia, Frank Rosen, Tim Black, Kit Gage, Congressman Danny Davis, and others made this a very memorable occasion.
Pearl Hirshfield's donation of an Alexander Calder print which we sold at auction yielded significant new funds for our work. We must particularly thank Nancy Mikelsons, who took the lead in organizing the event, along with Don Goldhamer and Milt Herst. We still have CDs of the remarkable Studs Terkel/Wilkinson radio interview which anyone interested can purchase: not a bad holiday present!
Please save the date of 15 March 2007 for our evening tribute to Sister Helen Prejean, whose leadership in opposing the injustices of the death penalty was dramatically portrayed in the film "Dead Man Walking."
As always, we welcome and are grateful for your financial contributions.
Sincerely,
Bob Clarke
Let there be no mistake: unless a wavering and unpredictable Supreme Court majority overturns the crucial provisions of this frightening legislation, citizen and non-citizen alike could be at the mercy of a "trust-me" President and his minions who have already brought us the excesses of Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and the spectre of unlimited executive power in designating "enemy combatants" deprived of all procedural rights.
Twelve million permanent residents have summarily been deprived of the habeas corpus rights which they held until Tuesday when Bush signed this alarming bill. His administration has already given notice to the District Court in Washington, D.C. that it may entertain no habeas petitions from Guantanamo detainees. And henceforward the President can determine what is forbidden torture, though the evidentiary "fruits" thereof are to be admissible in the military commissions.
Perhaps most telling are the provisions in the law which guarantee that culprits from Bush and Gonzalez on down will be free from prosecution for the criminal violations of U.S. and international law which they have already committed in the pursuit of the overblown "war on terror."
As our elected officals (with some laudable exceptions), fail us, the burden of defence of civil liberties falls increasingly on the remaining independent institutions of civil society. The Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights will join with like-minded organizations to struggle for the cause which a supine Congress has unpardonably betrayed.
Robert Clarke, President
Likewise, Congress is considering bills that would remove any doubts about the President's power to use the National Security Agency as a master-eavesdropper without warrants, making a mockery of the 4th amendment. Instead of stopping the electronic eavesdropping, the Bush administration is hounding the New York Times for finally fulfilling its journalistic duty by letting us know what the President had illegally ordered the NSA to do!
Another positive step was the American Bar Association's denunciation of Bush's abuse of "signing statements" (800 of them) whereby he avoids the pain of applying his constitutional veto authority and simply announces he will not enforce the law; e.g., his statement attached to the McCain anti-torture bill essentially saying that he will continue to authorize torture as he sees fit. That the very staid and mainstream ABA was driven to take such a public position is a measure of the constitutional crisis we face.
Locally, after almost twenty years of strenuous efforts (including those of CCDBR advisory board member Larry Kennon) on behalf of victims of police torture in Chicago, the "Burge report" was finally made public. But the report concluded that no prosecutions of brutal police involved are possible because of the statute of limitations. It barely offered a slap on the wrist to key figures (such as Mayor Daley) responsible for failing to intervene against these most flagrant violations of the 5th amendment and other fundamental rights of suspects.
This year's "Taste of Chicago" offered a bitter taste of repression on July 2 when police arrested six leafleters and a legal observer (CCDBR board member Don Goldhamer) for not carrying out their informational leafleting on military recruitment far enough from the Army promotional booth in a designated "free speech zone." The CCDBR board has expressed its alarm and concern at the apparent claim of the City of Chicago that it can confine the exercise of bedrock 1st-Amendment assembly and expression rights to designated "zones" in the most public of spaces such as Grant Park. We are seeking to coordinate with like-minded organizations a response to this threat.
Frank Wilkinson devoted his life to defense of the Bill of Rights and knew well that in this battle victories are never permanent. Save the date of October 29, 2006, when CCDBR will commemorate Frank's unique contributions to the mission we have all undertaken to maintain.
As always, we will be grateful for your financial help to augment our limited resources.
The First Amendment gets some further overdue respect in Chicago with the opening of the "Freedom Museum" at 445 N. Michigan Avenue, next to Tribune Tower (Tel.: 312-222-4860). Although the exhibits avoid many cutting-edge issues, they are educational and worth seeing. One chilling indication of the emerging Surveillance Society: even in this museum dedicated to free expression, a surveillance camera eerily "watches" you as you watch the film extolling free expression!
To honor the memory of the late Frank Wilkinson, CCDBR is planning a memorial gathering in the late summer or fall: details will follow. Meanwhile, any of you who knew Frank are invited to contact Nancy Mikelsons at 708-386-2633.
We still have some tickets for the 21 May 4:00 P.M. matinee performance of the play "Back of the Throat," the inaugural production of the new Silk Road Theatre company. Please let our office know as soon as possible that you want to reserve. This play, which deals with a Muslim American suspected of terrorism, has received attention from the New York Times, Channel 11, Reader, and other media.
CCDBR has had some good news recently: (1) the Bill of Rights Foundation received a grant from the Puffin Foundation to help finance our "Acting Free" theatre program for students, being set up in conjunction with Chicago's Pegasus theatre; (2) the Crossroads Fund is considering us for a significant grant; (3) Independent Voters of Illinois (IVI) has conferred on CCDBR its 2006 Saul Mendelson Social Justice Award, which will be presented at the 3 June 2006 Independents' Day Dinner (for information call IVI at 312-939-5105.) Because of my own travel in Ethiopia and Rwanda May 15 - June 8, I will have to miss this event but have prepared a statement to be read to the audience.
On March 29, I represented CCDBR in a debate on national security and civil liberties as part of a teach-in at Evanston High School.
We had an especially rewarding board meeting 18 April 2006 thanks to the presentations by three invited visitors: (1) Stan Willis (Justice Coalition of Greater Chicago and the Chicago Council of Black Lawyers) described the creative legal efforts underway to prosecute accused police torturer John Burge whose victims included CCDBR program coordinator David Bates. CCDBR will support a site visit to Chicago by the Inter-American Human Rights Commission to investigate the inexcusable 18-year delay of this prosecution. (2) Adam Schwartz of ACLU described efforts to promote a Chicago police ordinance which would curtail racial profiling, secure rights to demonstrate, etc. (3) Pat Hill of the African American Police League vividly recounted the effort to re-name a Chicago street in honor of Fred Hampton, a victim of FBI/Chicago police assassination in 1969. CCDBR sent a letter to the City Council and mayor supporting this proposal; but it has been effectively killed off in the last few days of Council maneuvering.
We are moving ahead with the updating of our sustainer records and as usual hope for financial contributions from all and sundry. Many thanks to those who regularly help us keep operating.
In our last mailing, we were pleased to report that both Durbin and Obama had supported the original filibuster that slowed down the Patriot Act re-authorization juggernaut. When the test votes came again, Durbin voted to uphold a filibuster but Obama disappointed us by voting the other way. Finally, on the substance of the legislation, only ten senators, led by Russ Feinbaum, stood up and voted NO. Sad to report, neither Durbin nor Obama was among these ten. Thus, for lack of political will and despite all the negative publicity surrounding the NSA (National Security Agency) illegal surveillance and Bush's falling poll numbers, Congress handed the President most of what he asked for in the Patriot Act renewal. Only minor and cosmetic favorable changes, such as making two sections of the act renewable for just four years and protecting libraries from some invasions of their records, were adopted.
Some under-reported but disturbing provisions were actually added to the PA: (1) expanding Secret Service authority to police "special events of national significance," including arresting of demonstrators at such events - this amendment was added to the conference report with no hearings or discussion; (2) establishing new death-penalty offenses; (3) requiring that patients buying certain prescription cold medications present I.D.s and sign forms. This last provision joins the earlier "War on Drugs" assault on privacy with that of the "War on Terror." The "War on Pornography" (including attempts to scoop up Google search records) provides the final prong of a trident of legal "justifications" to plunge into the already moridbund corpus of 4th-amendment rights. Sometimes it seems that the only war that has been set aside is the "War on Poverty."
In the House of Representatives, 138 members had the courage to vote against renewal of the Patriot Act. From Illinois, these Nay votes were cast by Democrats Bobby Rush, Jesse Jackson, Jr., Danny Davis, and Jan Schakowsky. Luis Gutierrez and Lane Evans did not vote (in Evans' case possibly because of illness.) Surprisingly, two Illinois Republicans also voted against renewal: Donald Mazullo and Timothy Johnson. In the lamentable roster of those voting Yea were Democrats Rahm Emanuel, Melissa Bean, and Dan Lipinski, joined in this cave-in by all the other Republicans in the Illinois delegation. You might want to write or call our senators and your representative to let them know what you think about these votes.
The fact that some conservative/libertarian Republicans have begun to express alarm about the erosion of civil liberties is reflected in recent Senate and House votes and in the creation under ACLU aegis of the "Liberty Coalition" of groups from both Right and Left who find common ground in their determination to defend the Bill of Rights. But this regrouping around civil liberties concerns has not been so far sufficient to check the almost daily affronts to the rights we once though secure: e.g., it now appears that there will be no serious congressional investigation of the NSA scandal with its revelations of illegal warrantless searches on a huge scale. In the same vein, Congress is moving to deny habeas corpus petition rights to Guantanamo detainees; and Bush/Gonzalez have already announced they will plough through loopholes in the McCain anti-torture law. The New York Times reports an expasion underway of the detainee gulag to include a major center in Afghanistan, far from even the very restrained prying eyes that have beheld the shameful violations of human rights at Guantanamo.
Hovering over this whole ugly picture is the chilling, unresolved Padilla case. The new Chief Justice Roberts, while he was being interviewed by Bush for his nomination to the Supreme Court, joined an Appeals Court decision against summary dismissal of the "enemy combatant" doctrine under which Bush can seize American citizens on U.S. soil and clap them away incommunicado forever. The Attorney General got Padilla's case transferred to a civilian court; but that leaves open the question of the enemy combatant power itself. If the Supreme Court now decides to consider this claim of presidental power, how will it rule? Even a few months ago we could have been confident that the court would slap down dictatorial "Commander in Chief" authority. Now, with Alito and Roberts, can we be sure? Short of richly deserved impeachment/resignation, Bush still has as long to serve as the whole duration of the Kennedy presidency; and he may well get a chance for more Supreme Court appointments. If his party keeps control of the Senate after the November election, will it be possible to block additional extreme conservative appointees?
Some text from our recent mailing of the Frank Wilkinson obituary and Abner Mikva statement may have been cut off on the copy you received. If you notify us, we'll send another copy.
Because we are working to upgrade our "database" of member and supporter information, there have been some delays in the usual reminders for those of you who have generously made sustainer pledges. We are bringing these records up to date and plan to resume your reminders. In the meantime, of course we need and appreciate contributions from all and sundry. Beyond monetatry donations, we are always looking for new ideas and volunteers - please contact us whenever the spirit moves you. We have to keep fighting!
Fulfilling instructions from our board, yesterday afternoon I met with the district director of Representative Rahm Emanuel's office to convey CCDBR's indignation and disappointment at the congressman's vote in December to back the appalling House version of the Patriot Act re-authorization. I was told that Emanuel departed from his initial preference for the superior Senate version because of a plea made to him by the director of the FBI's Chicago office! We must hope that hearing from organizastions like ours (in conjunction with the CCCLR coalition) will move politicians like Emanuel, Melissa Bean and Lipinski to reconsider their earlier votes and insist on excising at least the most egregious provisions of the Patriot Act, such as sneak-and-peek, library and other record searches, and national security letters. The recent revelations of warrantless surveillance and eavesdropping by the National Security Agency, in flagrant violation of the law, should spur these wavering solons into greater awareness of the magnitude of the current attack on privacy and free expression and communication.
Please take note of the upcoming theater parties described below: both of them offer special opportunities for CCDBR members and supporters to help in the struggle for civil liberties while enjoying an entertaining and intellectually provocative theater experience. We have very limited numbers of seats, so book early.
As always, we seek and appreciate deeply your continuing financial support for our efforts in the face of mountying challenges.
The Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill Of Rights (CCDBR) has fought for 42 years against government encroachment on our constitutional rights in all its forms. CCDBR began as part of the struggle to disband the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities (HUAC), played a major role in the opposition to Chicago Police "Red Squad" spying in the seventies, and most recently, helped facilitate the passage of the Chicago City Council Resolution against The Patriot Act.
The Bill of Rights Foundation (BORF) is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit foundation that supports the struggle against all activities that threaten the freedoms guaranteed in our Bill of Rights.
QUESTIONS? call (312)939-0675