From 2016 to 2018, 20,000 people in Illinois were convicted of felonies for possessing small amounts of drugs, and 7,500 were imprisoned. On this episode of Talking Liberties, we are joined by a panel of experts and survivors to discuss why it is time to unwind the War on Drugs and install a public health approach to reducing the harms associated with drug use. We are joined by Lake County Sheriff John Idleberg, Elizabeth Cruz with the Women's Justice Institute, Alex Mathiesen with Live4Lali, and Dr. Juleigh Konchak with the Cook County Public Health Department. You can also learn more about HB 3447 and take action at aclu-il.org/en/legislation/reducing-barriers-to-recovery.

We are joined by ACLU of Illinois Advocacy and Intergovernmental Affairs Director Khadine Bennett to talk through the initiatives we are advancing in Springfield in 2021, including ending qualified immunity, reforming drug sentencing and protecting personal privacy, among other issues.

Passionate about a public issue that affects you, your family, or friends? Looking to make your voice heard with the most impact? We have got you covered! This episode, we are joined by ACLU of Illinois Advocacy Associate Chelsea Diaz to talk through the 'how-to's' on the best ways to reach your state legislators, effective organizing in Springfield, how a bill becomes a law in Illinois, and more.

Human Rights Watch and the ACLU of Illinois recently collaborated on a report - "The Only People It Really Affects Are the People It Hurts: The Human Rights Impacts of Parental Notice of Abortion in Illinois” -which concluded that PNA is dangerous for youth in the state, violates their human rights, and threatens their health and safety. We speak with Margaret Wurth from Human Rights Watch and Davina DiPaolo from ACLU of Illinois to discuss the report and why Illinois state legislators need to act swiftly to repeal this harmful law.

For a century, the American Civil Liberties Union has fought to keep Americans in touch with the founding values of the Constitution. In this episode of Talking Liberties, we speak with Ellis Cose, the author who literally wrote the book on the subject - Democracy, If We Can Keep It: The ACLU’s 100-Year Fight for Rights in America, who takes us through the series of monumental events and decisions that forged the ACLU into the organization it is today.

As #TransgenderAwarenessWeek comes to a close, we sat down with ACLU of Illinois LGBTQ and HIV Project Director John Knight to look at the big picture regarding the fight for transgender rights here at home and across the country. We also discuss John's work representing Aimee Stephens, who was part of a landmark Supreme Court decision this year that clearly determined it discrimination under federal civil rights statutes to fire someone because they are transgender.

Got questions about voting in Illinois ahead of November 3rd? We've got answers! In this episode, we speak with Matt Dietrich, Public Information Officer at the Illinois State Board of Elections, and Michelle Hernandez, ACLU of Illinois Advocacy Associate, to discuss changes to election laws in 2020, early voting, voting by mail, voting in jails or with a record, and much more.

Transgender people are too often exposed to horrific abuse in prison, facing physical and sexual assault at much higher rates than other prisoners. And experts recognize that denying someone the health care they need for gender dysphoria causes transgender people serious and lasting harm. For this episode, we speak with Taylor Brown, staff attorney with ACLU National, about a new lawsuit filed on behalf of Cristina Nichole Iglesias, who has been denied critical medical care and routinely abused during her time housed in federal corrections facilities for men, as well as Ghirlandi Guidetti, staff attorney with the ACLU of Illinois, about our ongoing litigation to protect transgender people in prisons in Illinois.

The U.S. Postal Service is a pillar of our democracy - and it's currently under siege. Protecting our right to vote-by-mail will be essential this November, as millions of Americans from all 50 states use this option as the safest way to vote during the COVID-19 crisis. We are joined by U.S. Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, who talks to us about questioning Postmaster General Louis DeJoy this week as a member of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and what we can do to protect the U.S. Post Office.

Americans are reimagining our fundamental notions about policing, especially in response to the continued killings of Black and Brown people by police officers. For too long, we have prioritized policing over other community resources. We speak with ACLU of Illinois Police Practices Staff Attorney Elizabeth Jordan about the steps we can take to reimagine how policing works and how we can continue to hold officers accountable for their actions.