FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, August 17, 2022
CONTACT: Ankur Singh | Chicago@nlg.org | 309-838-4265

Chicago Police Violated Black Lives Matter Protestors’ Human Rights In Summer 2020 According To New Comprehensive Multi-Year Report

CHICAGO — During the summer of 2020 Chicago law enforcement violated the human rights of Black Lives Matter activists with excessive force, according to a comprehensive multi-year report published on the second anniversary of the protests by UIC School of Law International Human Rights Clinic, the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) of Chicago and GoodKids MadCity. 

According to the report, titled “Violating Human Rights: Chicago Law Enforcement’s Excessive Force Against Black Lives Matter Activists and Human Rights Defenders”, Chicago law enforcement regularly violated human rights with an indiscriminate level of violence against protestors. CPD officers pepper sprayed and tear gassed crowds, used rubber bullets, and pushed, shoved, and punched protestors until they were incapacitated.

Chicago law enforcement also weaponized city Infrastructure through the use of kettling and mass arrest, raising the bridges, CTA shutdowns, and mandatory curfews. The report also documents that NLG legal observers were routinely targeted and abused by police.

“This project has been a true testament to the many voices that took action in Chicago in the 2020 summer and paid an enormous price to exercise their human right to protest,” said Sarah Dávila, director of UIC’s International Human Rights Clinic. “It is imperative that the U.S. government and in particular the city of Chicago hold those accountable and take immediate action to protect and promote human rights for all in this city.”

Last week the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination heard from several young people from Chicago regarding excessive police violence. “We are asking that you strongly recommend that the United States pass The PeaceBook Ordinance – a resource directory meant to invest in our communities and divest from the police,” said Damayanti Wallace, a member of GoodKids MadCity. “The PeaceBook will fund programs that allow survivors of trauma to heal.”  

###

UIC School of Law International Human Rights Clinic The UIC Law School International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC) is a non-profit, nonpartisan, law school legal clinic dedicated to promoting and protecting human rights in the United States and around the world. The IHRC offers students a background in human rights advocacy through the practical experience of working on international human rights cases and projects.

National Lawyers Guild of Chicago The National Lawyers Guild of Chicago (NLG) is a non-profit federation of lawyers, legal workers, and law students dedicated to actively eliminating racism, maintaining, and protecting our civil rights and liberties, and using the law as an instrument for the protection of the people.

GoodKids MadCity GoodKidsMadCity has the mission to prevent gun violence in underserved communities, by creating safe spaces for healing, changing behaviors and organizing young people to advocate and lobby for progressive legislation that contributes to community revitalization, restorative justice and reducing youth recidivism and incarceration. It does so, while simultaneously giving direct support to teens in neighborhoods that have suffered from gun violence by hosting healing circles, peace walks, honoring victims, block parties and peer mediated conflict resolution.

Our July Happy Hour will be on the beach on Sunday July 10 from 3pm – 7pm at Loyola Beach! Bring whatever you’d like to eat and drink. Celebrate summer and enjoy the beach with NLG friends and comrades. RSVP here.

The Chicago Guild is hiring a part-time Director of Operations.  We are looking for an organized and dedicated advocate, who can support the Guild’s critical work providing legal support to Chicago’s social justice movements.  

The person who fills this position will be tasked with building the  Chicago Guild’s capacity and organizational infrastructure , facilitating our continued growth, and managing day to day operations in collaboration with the NLG Chicago Board.

Our ideal candidate would bring experience and enthusiasm for providing administrative and logistical support to projects and organizations, along with a deep knowledge of movement work in the Metro Chicago area, and current issues regarding state repression of Chicago’s contemporary social movements. 

This position requires someone who is a self-starter and self-directed; the Director of Operations will report directly to the Board of Directors.This position will be scheduled for 10 hours a week at $20.00/hour, with a $4.25 hourly health and wellness benefit, and will include 36 hours of paid sick leave  and 72 hours of paid time off each year. The Director of Operations position is covered under a Collective Bargaining Agreement with National Organization of Legal Services Workers, United Auto Workers Local 2320.

This position includes the following roles (additional tasks may be assigned):

• Providing administrative and logistical support to members of the NLG Chicago Board, including scheduling Board meetings, logistically coordinating the annual election process, and coordinating Board input on day-to-day chapter decision making.
• Performing office administrative duties, including responding to phone calls, email, and receiving postal mail in the Guild Office (located in downtown Chicago)
• Coordinating and facilitating chapter wide events, including NLG Chicago’s annual fall fundraising event and spring May Day Party
• Assisting in fundraising including identifying and applying to grant opportunities 
• Growing chapter membership, including recruiting law students, building relationships between the Chicago Guild and like-minded or partnered organizations, and plugging the Guild into the progressive community in Chicago
• Maintaining and developing NLG Chicago’s online presence by updating our website, Facebook, and Twitter pages
• Maintaining listservs and sending updates to chapter membership through MailChimp
• Producing and publishing the quarterly Chapter Newsletter
• Supervising occasional office volunteers
• Meeting with the NLG Treasurer to discuss budgetary matters
• Directing and managing office volunteers
• Other related duties as assigned

The position will begin as soon as possible and require 10 hours per week, with regular office hours and some flexibility depending on the Chapter activities each month. This position will be a hybrid position with some tasks needing to be completed in the NLG Office. Although most work can be completed remotely, in person tasks do require that the candidate’s residence is in Chicago. 

NLG Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and people from historically marginalized groups and people who have been directly impacted by the criminal legal system are encouraged to apply. 

To apply, please email a resume, cover letter (in the body of the email), and three references, to chicago@nlg.org, with the subject line “NLG Director of Operations Application.”Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Interviews will be conducted via Zoom with members of the NLG Chicago Board.  Interviews will be held on a rolling basis until the position is filled. We will ask the Director of Operations to begin work as soon as possible. No phone calls please.

Due to an increase in COVID-19 cases, the NLG Chicago Board has decided to cancel our April 29th May Day Gathering. We are contacting those who have already purchased tickets. If you have already purchased a ticket and would like a refund, please contact us at chicago@nlg.org. If you would like to keep your ticket as a donation to the NLG, we will appreciate your support. People who purchased tickets at the Haymarket Martyr level who do not refund their ticket will still receive a gift bag. 

The Board made this decision due to an increase in COVID-19 cases, and due to the irresponsible state decision to remove the mask mandate on public transit. The COVID-19 pandemic is not over, and we do not want to risk anyone’s health or safety for an optional social gathering. While symptoms of COVID-19 are less life-threatening when people are fully vaccinated and boosted, so much about the long-term health impact of COVID-19 is unknown. 

In addition, the risk of mass COVID-19 infections among members of NLG Chicago could severely limit our ability to support Chicago’s movements seeking Legal Observers® or support from the Mass Defense Committee. Our responsibility is to the movements in Chicago–and a large, primarily indoor gathering during another wave of infections, would betray that responsibility. 

We are continuing to watch case numbers to the best of our ability–which is limited by irresponsible changes in how CDPH is reporting COVID-19 data. We hope to be able to host an outdoor gathering later in the summer when it is safer to do so, and if that become possible, we will share more information. 

The Chicago NLG continues to uphold our mission that “human rights and the rights of the environment are more sacred than property interests”. Our Legal Observer® Program continues to send volunteers to observe and document police activity at First Amendment protected protests. Our Mass Defense Committee continues to provide legal advocacy for those targeted by the state for exercising their right to challenge all forms of oppression. 

All of this work could not be done without your financial support. While we cannot raise funds in person at our May Day Party, we would greatly appreciate your financial support. You can make a donation at this link. 

Thank you for your understanding and continued support. 

In Solidarity, 

The Board of the Chicago NLG

The National Lawyers Guild Chicago condemns the recent actions of the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), which attempted to sanction Sheryl Ring, Esq, an Illinois attorney, for filing a federal lawsuit against the ARDC last month for their refusal to prohibit discrimination against transgender and gender nonconforming attorneys and litigants. While we are pleased to see that the ARDC has now stated that this attempt was done so in error, we join Ms. Ring in demanding that the ARDC prohibit attorneys and judges from engaging in gender identity discrimination against any attorney practicing law in the State of Illinois.

Post-Bostock, 47 States —all but Illinois, Alabama, and Mississippi—prohibit lawyers and judges from engaging in gender identity discrimination in their Rules of Professional Conduct; the ARDC is the only State agency in Illinois to ignore Bostock. The ARDC actively discriminates against transgender Illinois attorneys on the basis of sex and gender identity through ongoing practices of outing and deadnaming transgender attorneys.

The ARDC is meant to be an avenue of transparency and accountability for residents in the state—to ensure that attorneys practice in alignment with the profession’s ethical standards, policies, and procedures. The ARDC’s purpose is to regulate the legal profession to ensure that clients and the broader public are protected from misconduct. The ARDC is not a weapon to be wielded against transgender and gender non-conforming attorneys.

The guiding principle of the National Lawyers Guild is that human rights and the rights of ecosystems shall be regarded as more sacred than property interests. It is profoundly disturbing–to the point of professional incompetence– that the state’s key accountability body for attorneys has not moved to prohibit discrimination against transgender attorneys in their policies and procedures.

We demand that the ARDC immediately end the practice of discrimination against transgender attorneys in the State of Illinois. Ms. Ring has repeatedly stated that she simply wants the State of Illinois and the ARDC to refrain from discrimination on the basis of gender-identity. Ending discrimination against transgender attorneys is the only moral path forward for the ARDC whose stated mission is “promoting and protecting the integrity of the legal profession.”

Will you consider being a sponsor of the NLG Chicago 2021 Annual Celebration? We are virtual this year and will show sponsorship ads as part of the digital event.  Last day to purchase sponsorships is Oct 27th!

This year we are honored to be presenting our annual Kinoy Award posthumously to Brian Nelson, a formerly incarcerated activist who worked to fight solitary confinement in Illinois prisons. We are also introducing our inaugural Trailblazer Award and will be announcing the winner at the event.  We have sponsorship levels ranging from $100 to $1500. Sponsorship purchases close on Wednesday, Oct 27th, so buy now! Sponsorships can be purchased on the event website. To pay via check or another method, email chicago@nlg.org.

Name Listing ($100)

Name listed on the event website, and in the event slide show. Must be purchased by Oct 27th

Sponsorship – Supporter ($500)

Half-screen ad in the event slideshow; name listed on our event website and social media. Must be purchased and ads must be emailed to chicago@nlg.org by October 27th.

Sponsorship – Mobilizer ($1,000)

Full-screen ad in the event slideshow, and name will be mentioned by the event MC during the celebration. Plus name listed on event website, on event promotional materials, and on NLG Chicago website. Must be purchased and ads must be emailed to chicago@nlg.org by October 27th.

Sponsorship – Revolutionary ($1,500)

Full-screen ad in the event slideshow, and the opportunity to talk about your organization during the event, in addition to your name being mentioned by the event MC. Plus name listed on event website, on event promotional materials, and on NLG Chicago website. Must be purchased and ads must be emailed to chicago@nlg.org by October 27th.