Civil Liberties Committee – Chicago Council of Lawyers

Open Letter to President Biden: End the Decades-Long Imprisonment of Men Held Without Charge at Guantánamo

The Chicago Council of Lawyers joins the International Committee of the Red Cross in calling on President Biden to release forthwith the nineteen men held without charge at Guantánamo for two decades, who already have been cleared by our government for release or transfer. Over twenty years ago,...

January 21, 2022: Public Comments to Chicago City Council’s Public Safety Committee in Opposition to the “Victims Justice Ordinance” (VJO)

On Friday, January 21, 2022, Program Manager & Policy Analyst for Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts and the Chicago Council of Lawyers, Hanna Sharif-Kazemi, provided comments to the Chicago City Council’s Public Safety Committee in opposition of Mayor Lightfoot’s proposed “Victi...

Current System for Investigating Sexual Misconduct Complaints Against CPD Officers Welcomes Bias

Chicago City Council Should Authorize COPA to Investigate Complaints of Sexual Misconduct Against Chicago Police Officers A letter of recommendation from the Civil Liberties & Police Accountability Committee of the Chicago Council of Lawyers and Chicago Appleseed, written by Co...

Policy Statement of the Civil Liberties Committee: Limits on NSA Surveillance of Americans should be Retained or Strengthened

After Edward Snowden leaked classified memos that disclosed that the National Security Agency (NSA) had been been gathering bulk telephone metadata on Americans (such as phone numbers called and the dates and times), Congress enacted the USA Freedom Act of 2015 (H.R. 2048, Pub.L. 114–23). That act l...

Civil Liberties Committee opposes Proposed Rule to “Clarify” the scope of Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)

On August 12, the Civil Liberties Committee submitted a formal letter to the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services opposing a change to Section 1557 NPRM, RIN 0945-AA11 of the Affordable Care Act. They write: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)...

Chicago Council of Lawyers Statement on the Chicago Police Department

The Civil Liberties Committee of the Chicago Council of Lawyers has issued a statement on the U.S. Department of Justice investigation into a pattern and practice of misuse of force by the Chicago Police Department. Download the statement here....