ACLU Sues Cops – Allege Spying
Our Chicago Defense Lawyers applaud the ACLU for taking on the Illinois State Police over the agency’s “intelligence gathering” on the citizens of Illinois.
ACLU sues state police over intelligence gathering
The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois filed a lawsuit in Cook County today, seeking records on how the Illinois State Police protects people’s privacy while combing through databases compiling evidence of criminal activity.
The Illinois Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center, known as a “fusion center,” was formed to gather and share information about suspected criminals and criminal activity.
The centers were created in response to the 9/11 Commission report that called for better sharing of terrorism intelligence at the national, state and local levels. But the centers have also used their resources to fight local crime.
Concerned about the privacy of Illinois residents whose personal information may end up in the fusion center’s database, the ACLU in September 2008 submitted a Freedom of Information Act request asking the state’s center for documents about its privacy policy, its access to databases that compile personal information and its policy on information gathering from the Internet, among other documents, according to the lawsuit.
But the Illinois State Police, which oversees the fusion center, did not reply to all of the request or to follow-up requests, according to the complaint.
The ACLU is asking a Cook County judge to demand that the Illinois State Police disclose the records.
Capt. Scott Compton, a spokesman for the Illinois State Police, said the agency does not comment on pending litigation.
The ACLU’s lawsuit in Illinois comes after reports of abuse at fusion centers in other states, said Adam Schwartz, a lawyer with the Illinois branch of the ACLU. According to the ACLU, fusion centers in other states have targeted people and groups based on their political leanings.
“We want to know the safeguards are in place to ensure people who are doing lawful political advocacy do not end up with sensitive, personal information in the fusion center,” Schwartz said.
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