January 2005
Meeting Recap
Even with a prediction of heavy snow
there was a great turnout at the meeting. Attendees were presented with copies
of the Citizen Initiative Award which DAWN
received in December 2004 from the
Rumors of our
demise...
are wrong! Although we will meet quarterly for now, DAWN will continue to be a
force in
Some news
since the meeting...
Help Change
DAWN met recently with the Illinois League of Women Voters to share our
experiences regarding our successful pollwatching
effort and to discuss possible changes in
Share your
election day experiences
If you haven't already, take the survey- especially pollwatchers-
there is a place for comments- and there has been great participation so far
from DuPage.
http://www.lwvil.org/
DAWN Voter
Advocates- re-up credentials
Many
DAWN Voter registrars have opted to renew credentials for two more years. We
are still working on a date in February to renew our oath. Stay tuned for
details.
Peace
Offerings
DAWN
hopes the word will spread about a new faith-based initiative- it's
called Peace Offerings. The premise
is very simple. Many DAWN people of faith were quite disheartened at the
deafening silence of ( many, but not all ) our clergy in the lead up to and
execution of the
DAWN will continue to share news
from other organizations in our network in the local and national peace
community. DAWN encourages you to check the website regularly for updates. Our
next DAWN meeting will be Tuesday April 5th at the Glen Ellyn Library, 400
Duane St. in Glen Ellyn at 7:30 pm
DAWN Meeting
Recap
The April meeting, held the day before
our "orange revolution" in
We recapped a very busy March- where
suburban events to recognize the 2nd anniversary of the Iraq war drew hundreds
of people, from a rally in Oak Park that drew almost 400, a candlelight vigil
in Glen Ellyn that filled the streets with 180 participants of all ages, and
similar events downtown that brought thousands. The Hastert event on April 2nd
drew hundreds of folks who protested plans to privatize Social Security.
On March 20th, DAWN was honored by the
York Township Democrats for its nonpartisan efforts to register over
6,000 voters. Thanks, voter registrars- you did this!
There will be sporadic opportunities to register voters in the near
future, some are already being set up. We will get busier toward 2006. We'll be
ready!
A roundtable discussion covered many
topics, centering on strategy for the
Amy and Kathy shared plans to travel to
Springfield mid-April, to lobby with the ILA ( Illinois Library Association)
regarding efforts to curb the powers of the Patriot Act, and then on to pound
the pavement with the League of Women Voters Illinois to enact changes in
Illinois Elections law. We'll keep you posted on our progress.
One final note of profound gratitude to
those who contributed to DAWN in these last several weeks. Although we have
sent out individual thank you's, it is important to
note that DAWN, thanks to everyone who donated, is now solvent! We had planned
our meager slush fund to run out exactly on November 2nd, when we thought we
would be done. It did. Then, the election results and ensuing issues have
caused us to rethink things. The Patriot Act challenge will be an ongoing
effort, as will our registration of voters when the opportunity arises. We also
have the opportunity to help improve
Our next meeting will be the first Tuesday
in July. Watch the website for details and updates
DAWN in the
NEWS
Here is an article that appeared in
today's
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/sunpub/naper/top/n0405patact.htm
Activists to
urge council to oppose Patriot clauses
By
Susan Frick Carlman
staff writer
Meeting change
To avoid a conflict with the local
elections, the
The orange color theme at Wednesday's City Council meeting will have nothing to
do with the basketball team from
Peace activists, civil-liberties advocates and others who oppose portions of
the U.S. Patriot Act — and have been urged to wear orange for the occasion —
are expected to turn out in support of resident William Assmus'
effort to convince the council to go on record urging federal lawmakers to take
a hard look at the expiring clauses of the act before they vote on their
reauthorization later this year.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, 377 municipalities
in 43 states have passed resolutions opposing the Patriot Act over the past
three years. Five states also have done so.
Assmus and others involved in organizations aligned
with his position assert that some provisions of the act are unconstitutional. Assmus said he hopes to protect future generations by
helping address the pitfalls they see in the measure.
He especially objects to the section of the act that appears to create an
extremely broad definition of terrorism.
"It clearly states that if you break any state or federal law, you are a
terrorist," he said. "I might drive two miles an hour over the speed
limit, but that in no way makes me a terrorist."
Among those planning to attend the council meeting to support the local
resolution is Kathy Slovick, who co-founded DuPage Against War Now in October 2002 to protest the
impending invasion of
"Basically, the U.S. Patriot Act is not all bad, but there are portions
that infringe on the First Amendment, the Fourth Amendment and the Fifth
Amendment of the U.S. Constitution," Slovick
said. "There are parts of the bill that are too far-reaching."
The ACLU, which supports Assmus' undertaking, has
worked with communities throughout the country to pass resolutions opposing the
act. Ed Yohnka, director of communications for the
state organization, said objections often arise over effects of the act that
seem removed from overt terrorism, such as the easing of police access to
libraries' patron databases, which has occurred in
"It's one thing to say we're going to go get all the terrorists," Yohnka said. "It's another thing when we say, 'Oh, by
the way, while we're on the way to go get the terrorists, we're going to stop
by the library and look at your records.'"
Nobody is urging that the entire act be scrapped, he said. Opponents just
assert that individual rights need greater protection.
"What you're asking Congress to do is recalculate things, to reconsider
things and maybe not be so quick to reauthorize some of these things," Yohnka said. "This is one of the single most important
debates that we'll have in our lifetime."
Slovick concurs that the subject merits debate and
said it is a bipartisan matter.
"I don't think anyone can call privacy a Democrat or a Republican
issue," she said. "What we'd like to see is for the Naperville City
Council to stand up and say, 'Hey, we support the U.S. Constitution.'"
Yohnka said defending constitutional protections is
neither ideological nor political. He said it is understandable that the
anti-terrorism measure has given rise to dialogue and consensus among people
who otherwise might find few issues on which they agree.
"It is not surprising that you have something like the Patriot Act to pass
so quickly in the wake of something so horrific as the events of Sept.
11," he said. "But I think also, in the weeks and months after that,
you have a sort of recalculation on the part of the American people as far as
what is really reasonable, what is really necessary."
Assmus said he sees little justification for the act,
particularly on the local level.
"The thing is, do we really need it?" he said, noting that the city's
crime rate is extremely low. "Do we really need a Patriot Act? No police
have been shot. People here are pretty darn nice."
Slovick said the time has come to take another look
at the matter.
"I think
04/05/05
DAWN meeting Recap
The DAWN quarterly meeting was held July 5th and
DAWN was able to show the Greenwald films Unconstitutional and Uncovered once
again. Unconstitutional exposes flaws in the Patriot Act, and Uncovered the
faulty evidence that led up to the
Hyde Visit
We recapped the Henry Hyde visit on
June 1st- about a dozen of us stopped by Hyde's
Another bit of good news is that DAWN will
be able to participate in the Oak Park Peace Fair- thanks to the generosity
of our wonderful DAWN people. The date is September 10th, and the event will be
held in
Calling all performers and
artists!
On the subject of the Peace Fair, the
organizers are looking for crafters and artists ( who would have to pay a booth
fee and provide their own tent) and performers, who would be unpaid but be
allowed to sell their CD's and t-shirts. If interested, contact Kevin McDermott
at 708-615-1603
Peace Fair Volunteers
We will probably need 2 voter
registrars, and a couple of other volunteers to watch over the fun and games.
Email DAWN if you are interested. There will be more information coming out in
the days to come, but it should be a fun and productive day.
Linda Chapa La Via Visit
Late breaking- On Wednesday, July 6th,
Amy and Kathy met with Illinois House Representative Linda Chapa La Via to
brainstorm some strategies for upcoming pollwatching
legislation, to talk about the Patriot Act, and to urge her support of the
alternative SAFE Act. She gave us some super advise along with some great
encouragement. Be on the lookout for something big that DAWN is cooking
up-to boost voter registration, education and awareness, especially in the
schools.
DuPage County Fair
Many may remember that our offer to
register voters at the DuPage County Fair was ignored
last summer- in spite of the fact that we had volunteers in place all lined up
to do the job. Well, afterwards there was a proclamation that there would be
voter registration this time at the DuPage County
Fair, as per election officials. It is possible that DAWN Voter Advocates may
get asked to help out at the fair this year registering voters .
Cost of Freedom Project
DAWN has been asked to contribute to an
upcoming book about the peace movement- published author Mike Palacek is compiling some stories for his book which he
plans to title," The Cost of Freedom". More information is coming
soon about this-But in the meantime be thinking about whether or not you'd like
to participate in this piece by telling your part of the story.
Our next meeting will be Tuesday
September 6th, at the Glen Ellyn Library,