ACTION ALERT: Email Your Rep

Contact Your Illinois House Representative & Demand a Stop to the Politicizing of Our Pension System to punish free speech and expression. (Chicago, IL) Wednesday the Illinois General Assembly's House ExecutiveCommittee approved Senate Bill 1761, the anti-First Amendment “State-Prohibited Transactions” bill and the full House may vote on the act today at 1:00 P.M.Without delay, please contact your local state representative and make your voice heard!

This bill requires the pension funds, at the expense of public employees and taxpayers, to blacklist anddivest from companies that boycott Israel, as well as Iran-restricted and Sudan-restricted companies.

TAKE ACTION NOW TO STOP THIS BILL BY EMAILING YOUR ILLINOIS STATE REPRESENTATIVE!

Let the Illinois General Assembly know that:

The Illinois legislature should not further burden the pension system with politically motivated policies. SB 1761 requires Illinois retirement funds to expend time and money investigating, blacklisting, monitoring and withdrawing funds from such companies. This is being done at a time when Illinois has the lowest credit rating and worst funded pension system among the 50 states.

SB 1761 forces state pension fund administrators to blacklist companies that boycott Israel or businesses that operate in “territories under the control of Israel." Illinois should not be shielding Israel from boycotts protesting human rights abuses and settlements, which are illegal under international law in what is considered occupied territory by the U.S. government.

The Chicago office of CAIR Illinois works to defend the civil rights of American Muslims in the region, fight bigotry, and promote tolerance.

Thank you for your action!

The Illinois Coalition to Protect Academic Freedom and Free Speech was formed in response to anti-boycott legislation introduced in the Illinois State Senate.  The Coalition includes the Center for Constitutional Rights,CAIR-Chicago, Jewish Voice for Peace-Chicago, Palestine Solidarity Legal Support,  Committee for a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine, Arab-Jewish Partnership for Peace and Justice in the Middle East, Friends of Sabeel: North America, American Friends Service Committee- Chicago, United States Palestinian Community Network, Just Foreign Policy, American Muslims for Palestine, Chicago Area Code Pink, Muslim American Society Public Affairs and Civic Engagement – Chicago