Sixteen provisions of the PATRIOT Act were set to expire on December 31, 2005. After a very heated debate, Congress extended the expiring provisions until February 3, 2006. Congress is now getting ready to vote on renewing the Act. The PATRIOT Act, as it stands, enables law enforcement officials to acquire secret search warrants and prohibits any individual who provides such records from disclosing it to third parties, including the subject of the investigation. In addition, it allows FBI field inspectors to obtain records without prior authorization, and prohibit recipients from informing anyone of the request.

For more information on the PATRIOT Act, visit:

http://cairpatriotact.blogspot.com

ACTIONS REQUESTED:

1. Contact your elected congressional representatives on January 25th and tell them your stance on the issue. You will be asked for your zip code to verify your residence in the district and your stance on the issue. You can find your U.S. representative here by entering your zip code:

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt?action=myreps_form

2. The Civil Liberties Coalition of Illinois (CLCI) invites all constituents to an informational session on civil liberties and rights with Special Invited Guest, Congresswoman Melissa Bean of the 8th Congressional District. There meeting will also feature a panel on current civil liberties and rights, to be followed by a Question and Answer session.

Who: A panel on civil liberties and rights along with Special Invited Guest Congresswoman Melissa Bean, of the 8th Congressional District.

When: Saturday, January 28 at 5:30 P.M.

Where: Masjid Al-Huda 1081 West Irving Park Road Schaumburg, Illinois 60194

For additional inquires on the meeting on Civil Liberties and Rights, contact CAIR-Chicago’s Governmental Relations Coordinator Sadiya Ahmed at,gov.relations@cairchicago.org

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