The Peoria ACLU Chapter’s annual meeting on Thursday, April 28, 2016 will feature Colleen Connell, Executive Director of the Illinois ACLU. She will speak on Religious Refusals and the Threat to Religious Liberty and Healthcare.
The event takes place at the IVY Club, 1502 N. Galena Road, Peoria Heights, and begins with a social hour at 5:30 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m. with the program, presentation of awards and election of officers to follow.
Guest speaker Connell has argued before courts in both the state and federal justice systems, including the Supreme Court of the United States, on important matters involving the rights of women to control their own reproductive health. Ms. Connell has directed the organization’s litigation efforts involving constitutional rights of privacy and the rights of Illinois citizens to make decisions concerning reproductive matters without undue governmental restriction.
The Sam Belfer Award will be presented to the Peoria Housing Authority and its security officer Jerry McKean. The PHA board revised trespass list policies to provide due process to those placed on the list, namely a way to challenge the listing and have the name removed. Officer Jerry McKean has gone above and beyond in his efforts to monitor the list as well as remove inappropriate and/or outdated names. The David Citron Award for an ACLU member goes to Jean Sanger for her leadership and service on the ACLU board as well as several other important civic boards of directors in Peoria in recent years.
Two special awards for civic activities also will be presented. They go to the Collaboration that developed the Peoria School District 150 Comprehensive Sexuality Education Program that is comprehensive and accurate, and to Kamil Mufti, resident scholar and imam at the Islamic Foundation of Peoria, for strengthening understanding of freedom of religion and distinguishing between free speech and hate speech.
Reservations for the dinner must be made by April 22. Contact Elaine Hopkins, 309-231-5758 for more information or the chapter website, http://aclupeoria.org. The dinner costs $45. The public is invited, and welcome to attend the program free of charge.