Media Advisory: Civil Rights Leaders to Speak Out Against Surveillance in Chicago
(CHICAGO, IL, 6/06/09) - Today the Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights (CCDBR) is hosting The State of Surveillance in the Surveillance State: Chicago and the Nation. The event will take place at Northwestern University School of Law from 1-4pm. CAIR-Chicago attorney Kevin Vodak will take part in a panel discussion on Chicago area surveillance issues. Other topics that will be discussed include: racial profiling, fusion centers -where surveillance data is pooled for police, military, and corporate agencies, and responses to the dangers of abusive surveillance.
“Governmental surveillance is a critical issue for the Muslim community with the FBI allegedly using agent provocateurs as a counter terrorism initiative,” said Vodak.
WHAT: The State of Surveillance in the Surveillance State: Chicago and the Nation For more information visit: http://www.ccdbr.org
WHEN: Saturday, June 6, 1-4pm
WHERE: Northwestern University School of Law Student Area, 750 N. Lake Shore Drive 8th floor
WHO: Kevin Vodak, Staff Attorney, Council on American Islamic Relation – Chicago Chapter. Mike German, National Staff Counsel, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Shahid Buttar, Bill Of Rights Defense Committee (BORDC), Northampton, Mass. Sue Udry, Defending Dissent Foundation (DDF), (Washington, D.C and former staff director, CCDBR Pat Hill, African American Police League (AAPL), Black People Against Police Torture (BPAPT) Joy Robinson-Van Gilder, Activist to stop fingerprinting of Illinois school children
CONTACT: Kevin Vodak, Staff Attorney, CAIR-Chicago, E-Mail: kvodak@cair.com, or Amina Sharif, Communications Coordinator, CAIR-Chicago, E-Mail: asharif@cair.com, c: 630.935.5562.
The Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill Of Rights (CCDBR) has fought for 43 years against government encroachment of constitutional rights. 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 in 2003 helped facilitate the passage of the Chicago City Council Resolution against The Patriot Act.
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization, has 35 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
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