2005 Articles

Asylum seekers to face hardships under new federal legislation By Sarah R. Weinman & David W. Austin March 2005 The United States, as the home of freedom, has long been a place where individuals who feared for their lives because of political beliefs could find refuge.

Case notes By Douglas A. Darch & Thomas A. Bruno December 2005 Recent cases of interest.

From the Chair By Sheila M. Murphy December 2005 Bravo to President Bob Downs for calling attention to the over-representation of African Americans and Latinas/os in the Juvenile Justice system.

From the chair August 2005 It is a privilege to Chair this Committee and our President, Bob Downs, has high expectations that the coming year will be an action year, not just a talking year.

From the Chair By Phillip B. Lenzini March 2005 I am happy to introduce you to the third issue of this year's newsletter, newly renamed to "Human Rights" for our Section.

Illinois groups turn to international bodies for assistance in promoting human rights By David W. Austin September 2005 As illustrated by two recent news stories, bar associations and human rights organizations in Illinois are increasingly turning to international bodies in their efforts to combat local abuses of human rights.

The Illinois Human Rights Act: What the new “Sexual Orientation” Amendment does (and does not) require By Mark E. Wojcik March 2005 The Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits invidious acts of discrimination in employment, real estate transactions, access to financial credit, and the availability of public accommodations.

ISBA newsletter authors can receive CLE program discounts December 2005 The ISBA announces its new newsletter article authors CLE discount program. Program rules provide that during the 2005-2006 publishing year, the author of a published substantive ISBA newsletter article of at least 500 words can receive a non-transferable discount certificate redeemable for a 20 percent discount off the tuition for an ISBA-sponsored CLE program of their choice with a limit of five such discount certificates for the publishing year.

New Illinois laws affecting human rights: A selected survey of recent legislation approved in Illinois By Mark E. Wojcik September 2005 One of the more important functions of each section council involves the review of legislative proposals submitted to the state (and sometimes federal) legislature. Section council members review and comment on proposed legislation, drawing upon the council's collective wisdom and experience in the field of human rights.

New Supreme Court Rule 790 et al. establishing minimum continuing legal education requirements By Timothy E. Moran December 2005 On September 29, 2005 the Illinois Supreme Court announced the adoption of new Supreme Court rules 790-798, which mandate minimum continuing legal education for attorneys licensed to practice in Illinois.

Pandemic flu—A rights shambles By Amy Gajda December 2005 If the experts are right and a flu epidemic hits this year or next year or some year soon, life as we know it in the United States will likely change for awhile.

Personal Information Protection Act requires notification of security breaches By Michael R. Lied August 2005 A new Illinois statute, effective January 1, 2006, requires entities which collect personal data to notify individuals when there has been a breach of computer system security and where personal information may have been acquired.

Private adoptions-Right to counsel By Phillip B. Lenzini March 2005 Under the category of "human rights," particularly when viewed by attorneys, perhaps no single right is believed as important and prophylactic as the right to be represented by a competent attorney.

Senator Durbin’s efforts to obtain loan assistance for prosecutors and defenders continue By Patrick J. Hughes August 2005 Illinois Senior Senator Dick Durbin, who has been exceptionally persistent in the efforts to obtain federal student loan assistance for state and local prosecutors and public defenders, is responsible for the introduction of S.1322 including "Part HH-Loan Repayment for Prosecutors and Public Defenders."

Smarter surfing: A guide to key human rights law Web sites By Kelly A. Fox March 2005 The Bora Laskin Law Library at the University of Toronto Law School manages this "authoritative and diverse" informational Web site.

Teaching about genocide-A new Illinois law mandates that schools teach about the seven human rights catastrophes in addition to the Holocaust By Elizabeth Al-Dajani September 2005 The law amends Section 5 of the School Code by requiring that public elementary and high schools teach about additional genocides and human rights catastrophes in addition to the Holocaust.

Teenagers reportedly executed for homosexual conduct in Iran By Elizabeth Al-Dajani August 2005 Two teenaged boys were reportedly hanged on July 19, 2005 in Edalat (Justice) Square in the Iranian city of Mashhad, in northern Iran.

Why we took Chief Illiniwek to court By Kenneth Dobbs August 2005 The Native American Bar Association filed case 05 CH 04735 in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, on June 30, 2005 alleging that the University of Illinois, by its Board of Trustees, et al., violated the Illinois Civil Rights Act of 2003 (740 ILCS 23/1 sec. 5) by discriminating against Native Americans.