2003-4 Annual Report: Champaign County Chapter ACLU Some specific initiatives: *** Formed a committee to visit local legislators. Visited with Naomi Jakobsson in August -- learned how hard lobbying can be. We need to be much better prepared, especially in terms of being specific about questions and comments. *** Dan Walsh, Champaign County Sheriff addressed the October monthly meeting. He discussed the operation of the department and answered questions for about an hour. Specific civil liberties issues included racial profiling and a new state that requires audio or video taping of confessions in homicide cases. *** We became affiliated with the Juvenile Justice Issues Forum. See newletter for some details. *** Identified lapsed members for contact by Illinois office. Got about 20 members to rejoin. *** Annual Banquet and Awards Chalmer's award to Nancy Cantor Norton award to Hiram Paley Stone award to Clarence Shelley Excellant talk by Ed Yohnka!!! *** Supported local activities Contributed to local support for Amnesty International's Road Trip for Justice when it stop on the UI campus on Mar 31, 2004. Supported local students to attend ACLU National Convention and March on Washington. Co-sponsored pro-choice rally on January 22 Members appeared at various local meetings, talked to local politicians and members of the media, and served on panels Victor stone on town hall meeting panel on security vs. civil liberties (Champaign Public Library, September 2003) Hiram Paley and Stan Levy joined Colleen Connell and Ed Yohnka in meeting staff of The News-Gazette in September, 2003 Hiram Paley had a chance encounter with Rep. Tim Johnson in March, and learned that Tim is working with Congressmen Barney Frank and Dennis Kucinich, among others, to sponsor legislation that would address abuses related to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Coalition for Police Review Boards. Steve Portnoy attended March meeting. They intend to gather 1,000 signatures on a petition, initially to be presented to the Urbana City Council, requesting that a citizens' police review board be put into place. They later intent to approach the Champaign City Council and the University of Illinois administration.