Illinois Muslim Action Day (IMAD) on Thursday, April 27 is quickly approaching and we encourage CIOGC membership to participate in this important event! Community members and institutions should contact Farah Bousmaha at farah@ciogc.org to reserve their spot at this year’s IMAD.
Every year since 2009, CIOGC has provided the greater Chicago Muslim community the opportunity to engage with Illinois legislators in a meaningful way through IMAD. This year’s legislative agenda, as with previous years, is important not only to the Muslim community but the greater Illinois community as a whole.
For IMAD 2017, CIOGC is specifically addressing the following four issues, some of which other social justice organizations are supporting due to the interest of their members, and those who look to them for representation and support.
CIOGC’s legistlative agenda includes:
- Combating Hate Crimes (HB3711)
- Defending Religious Freedom in the Workplace (SB1697)
- Expanding Safe Zones for Immigrants (HB0426)
- Ensuring Police Accountability Practices (SB0058)
CIOGC recently affirmed its support for the Immigrant Safe Zones Bill (HB0426) at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) press conference on Monday, April 3 alongside a host of organizations working to push protective legislation through the Illinois General Assembly in Springfield. A number of state senators were also in attendance, including Illinois Senate President John J Cullerton, the chief sponsor of SB0031/HB3099, the Illinois Trust Act, which he has promised to merge with the Immigrant Safe Zones Bill.
The Illinois Trust Act contains several provisions that would affect immigration policy in Illinois, including the expansion of “safe zones” for immigrants (areas where individuals cannot be questioned regarding their immigration status or arrested without a court-issued warrant), would establish a standardized visa application process for immigrants residing in Illinois illegally, and would bar the formation of any sort of registry based on religion or national origin – a provision specifically included to preemptively prevent the formation of any kind of “Muslim registry.”
Speaking on the Illinois Trust Act, Senator Cullerton said that “law enforcement in Illinois has better things to do” than to serve the interests of federal immigration agencies, and that the purpose of the bill was to rebuild trust between immigrants and law enforcement. The bill is expected to pass out of committee and will be put to a vote in the State Senate.