Carbondale, Illinois
City/Town: Carbondale
County: Jackson
State:
Illinois
Congressional District: (click to contact Rep.) 12
Population (2000 Census): 20,681
Date Passed: 02/03/04
Resolution of the City Council of Carbondale, Illinois, to Defend the Bill of Rights and Civil Liberties Against Abuses by the U.S.A. PATRIOT ACT and Related Federal Legislation and Executive Orders
Approved by: Carbondale City Council
WHEREAS the City of Carbondale recognizes the Constitution of the United State of America to be the supreme law of the land; and
WHEREAS the United States Constitution generally guarantees to all persons living in the United States— regardless of citizenship—fundamental rights including freedom of religion, speech, and assembly; protection from unreasonable searches and seizures; due process and equal protection of the law; right to counsel; and a fair and speedy trial; and
WHEREAS our long-held standards of personal liberty and limited government require that these rights be strictly observed by all government officials and bodies; and
WHEREAS the City of Carbondale is home to a diverse population, including non-citizens, whose contributions to the community are vital to its character and function; and
WHEREAS fundamental rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution are threatened by actions taken recently at the federal level, notably by passage of sections of the U.S.A. Patriot Act, the Homeland Security Act, and several Executive Orders which, among other things:
• violate the First and Fourth Amendments to the Constitution through the expansion of the government's ability to wiretap telephones, monitor e-mail communications, survey medical, financial, and student records, and secretly enter homes and offices without customary administrative oversight and without showing of probable cause;
• give law enforcement expanded authority to obtain library records, and prohibit librarians from informing patrons of monitoring or information requests;
• grant potential unchecked powers to the Attorney General and the U.S. Secretary of State to designate legal domestic groups as "terrorist organizations", while lifting administrative regulations against covert-surveillance counter-intelligence operations by the F.B.I. that in the past targeted domestic groups and individuals;
• violate the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution in establishing secret military tribunals, and in subjecting citizens and non-citizens to indefinite detention even when they have not been allowed an attorney, brought to trial, or even charged with a crime; and
• authorize eavesdropping on confidential communications between lawyers and their clients in federal custody; and
WHEREAS the President of the United States has claimed an unlimited authority to declare anyone in the world, including any U.S. citizen, an "enemy combatant," thereby depriving that person of all procedural rights without possibility of challenge and for the indeterminate duration of the "war on terrorism;" and
WHEREAS privacy is essential to the exercise of free speech, free thought, and free association, and, in a library, the subject of users interests should not be examined or scrutinized by others; and
WHEREAS the preservation of fundamental rights and civil liberties is a pillar of American society and is essential to the well-being of our democracy, particularly during times of conflict, when such rights—especially those of immigrants and ethnic minorities—may be threatened, intentionally or unintentionally, under false pretenses of national security or patriotic zeal; and
WHEREAS law enforcement and security measures that undermine fundamental rights do irreparable damage to American institutions and values of equal justice and freedom that the residents of the City of Carbondale hold dear;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Carbondale reasserts its commitment to the conscientious protection of First Amendment and due-process rights of all persons in the city, whether United States citizens or not; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that local law enforcement preserve and uphold residents' freedom of speech, assembly, association, and privacy, and protection from unreasonable searches and seizures, even if requested to do otherwise and infringe upon such rights by federal or state law enforcement agencies acting under new powers created by the U.S.A. Patriot Act or by Executive Order; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Carbondale urges Congress to repeal the U.S.A. Patriot Act and to refrain from passing any further legislation that violates or unduly limits the civil rights and liberties guaranteed by the United States Constitution; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that upon passage, the City Clerk shall communicate this Resolution to all City Departments and employees, to the Illinois Congressional Delegation, to the Governor and the Attorney General of Illinois, to the Illinois State Police, to the United States Attorney General, and to the President of the United States.
Community Group / Coalition: Shawnee Green Party
Contact Information:
P. O. Box 2201
Shawnee , IL 62902
http://shawneegreenparty.org/
shawneegreen@yahoo.com