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Legislatures around the country are looking at laws that put heavy
penalties on "damage to critical infrastructure".<br>
<br>
But the way those laws are written, they don't only cover the
bombing of bridges or pipelines. They can mean long prison terms
for nonviolent protest actions.<br>
<br>
Illinois has one of these bills in committee now, HB 1633. This
alert from the IL Green Party explains how to file a 'witness slip'
indicating that you oppose the bill. Legislators do notice when
the public is keeping eyes on a bill, and it can make a difference
in whether the bill goes forward or not.<br>
<br>
The hearing is Tuesday afternoon at 4pm, so if you're going to act,
submit a slip before then.<br>
<div class="moz-forward-container"><br>
<br>
-------- Forwarded Message --------
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<th valign="BASELINE" nowrap="nowrap" align="RIGHT">Subject:
</th>
<td>Action Alert: Oppose House Bill 1633!</td>
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<th valign="BASELINE" nowrap="nowrap" align="RIGHT">Date: </th>
<td>Mon, 04 Mar 2019 22:50:32 +0000 (UTC)</td>
</tr>
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<th valign="BASELINE" nowrap="nowrap" align="RIGHT">From: </th>
<td>ILGP Media <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:media@greenpartychicago.org"><media@greenpartychicago.org></a></td>
</tr>
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<th valign="BASELINE" nowrap="nowrap" align="RIGHT">To: </th>
<td><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:prairiegreens-owner@lists.chambana.net">prairiegreens-owner@lists.chambana.net</a></td>
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<p><a style="background: #bfe6ff; text-align:
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href="https://ilgp.nationbuilder.com/admin/broadcasters/17/mailings/665/http://www.ilgp.org/?e=86b87912756f6790f73a8cbac9ebf7c3&utm_source=ilgp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=action_alert_hb_1633&n=1"
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height="80"></a><strong></strong><em></em></p>
<h2><u>Action Alert: Oppose House Bill 1633!</u></h2>
<p>Friend -- </p>
<p>The Illinois Green Party opposes<strong>
Illinois </strong><a
href="http://www.ilgp.org/r?u=YcZqQnE0bk40OWjkW5W0KUxv8z-hiSG2PYxkpkGyjD5CDmXjHxMNm1kbLx4_KwwsYFJwUrq35q5Sd_gnLoEii9VF9TKK3UNWzt131xQEChDauotf-g6M9SwjWPLSYEiLOGllXh0v7xHI4k7lX9iDyZbo7Hlwo3D1v77E-dIPJKU&e=86b87912756f6790f73a8cbac9ebf7c3&utm_source=ilgp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=action_alert_hb_1633&n=2"
moz-do-not-send="true"><strong>House
Bill 1633</strong></a><strong>, and we ask
you to do the
same.</strong> HB 1633 is set for a hearing
before the <a
href="http://www.ilgp.org/r?u=YcZqQnE0bk40OWjkW5W0Kd6P8OP8Ly_wn4mT__FzWB_vOdI4In1JD7rP6NJtYNvpl-nBFXYVQjfRPIFOeH8CU7qBH9XhtOXVatZgsr3jy_c&e=86b87912756f6790f73a8cbac9ebf7c3&utm_source=ilgp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=action_alert_hb_1633&n=3"
moz-do-not-send="true">House
Judiciary - Criminal Committee</a> <strong>tomorrow,
Tuesday, March
5th, at 4 p.m.</strong> Below you will find
instructions on how to
fill out an online witness slip to oppose this
noxious legislation, as
well as other steps you can take to oppose its
passage. </p>
<p><strong><u>Why We Oppose HB 1633</u></strong></p>
<p>At best, HB 1633 is an unnecessary bill that
creates new draconian
penalties for conduct already covered by
existing criminal statutes.
It undermines the promising reform efforts of
many lawmakers who are
trying to remedy the harm caused by
overcriminalization and mass
incarceration in Illinois and nationally, and it
will have a chilling
impact on free speech.</p>
<p>HB 1633 is purportedly designed to protect
against “critical
damage” to “critical infrastructure facilities.”
On the surface, this
seems unobjectionable. However, Illinois already
has laws on the books
to protect against such acts. What this bill
actually does is create a
broad new offense that harshly punishes
vandalizing, defacing,
tampering with, or “impeding” the operations of
critical
infrastructure, a category that includes
pipelines, other oil and
natural gas facilities, and military and
national guard bases. This
new criminal offense would be a Class 1 felony,
punishable by fines of
up to $100,000 and 15 years in prison, <strong>even
where there is no
actual damage to property.</strong></p>
<p>To be very clear, the Illinois Green Party is a
political
organization devoted to effecting change through
nonviolent and lawful
means – with an obvious focus on electoral
change. We do not support
vandalism and opposing this bill does not imply
support for vandalism,
which is already a criminal offense.</p>
<p>However, we also recognize that nonviolent
civil disobedience is as
American as apple pie, and has a long, storied
tradition as another
tactic for raising awareness and building public
support for social
progress. We oppose it being overly criminalized
and punished. We
oppose overly criminalizing conduct that may be
intended to expose
much <strong>greater</strong> corporate crimes
against public and
environmental health and safety. We also oppose
a definition of
“critical infrastructure” that includes
facilities perpetuating
destructive climate change and that facilitate
war-making. This is the
kind of “infrastructure” that must be phased
out, not given special
protection.</p>
<p>If HB 1633 is passed, an act of civil
disobedience that would be a
minor offense if committed elsewhere could now
result in a sentence of
up to 15 years in prison. For example, an
activist who spray painted
an anti-pipeline slogan on a bulldozer (as our
presidential candidate
Jill Stein did at Standing Rock in 2016) would
be ensnared by this
law. Whatever one thinks of the underlying
actions, <strong>this is a
grotesquely disproportionate penalty.</strong></p>
<p>Similarly, HB 1633 creates new offenses of
trespass and aggravated
trespass to a critical infrastructure facility,
with disproportionate
penalties. Currently, a criminal trespass to
property is punishable as
a Class B or Class A misdemeanor, depending upon
the nature of the
offense. (720 ILCS 5/21-3.) HB 1633 would
elevate the penalty for
trespass to a critical infrastructure facility
to a Class 4 felony,
punishable by fines of up to $1,000 and 3 years
in prison.</p>
<p>Aggravated trespass to a critical
infrastructure facility would
occur when “a person who commits a criminal
trespass to a critical
infrastructure facility” does so “with the
intent to damage, destroy,
vandalize, deface, or tamper with equipment of
the facility, or impede
or inhibit operations of the facility.” This
would become a Class 3
felony punishable by fines of up to $10,000 and
10 years in prison.
Once again, this creates a situation in which an
individual engaged in
peaceful, nonviolent civil disobedience could
face years in prison,
even if no property damage took place. In
addition,<strong> the
language penalizing trespass with the intent
to “impede or inhibit
operations” is overbroad. It could be used to
impose severe penalties
on individuals whose intent is to expose or
gather evidence of
operations posing a threat to environmental or
public health, such as
an oil spill.</strong></p>
<p>Another cause for concern is HB 1633’s
amendment to the conspiracy
provision of the Criminal Code, which would make
any “organization
convicted of conspiracy to commit criminal
damage to a critical
infrastructure facility, criminal trespass to a
critical
infrastructure facility, or aggravated criminal
trespass to a critical
infrastructure facility” criminally liable for
fines “of not less than
10 times the minimum fine authorized for the
offense.”</p>
<p>In sum, this bill, if passed, would create
monstrous penalties for
nonviolent offenses. At a time when many people,
including lawmakers,
are finally waking up to the negative impacts
mass incarceration has
had on our society, and have begun to rectify
laws that have
over-criminalized certain conduct or imposed
unreasonable penalties,
<strong>HB1633, if adopted, would be a giant
step backwards. By
creating a whole new class of nonviolent
offenders who could serve
serious prison time, it is antithetical to
criminal justice reform.
</strong> </p>
<p>This bill is also part of a larger national
trend of “critical
infrastructure” bills promoted by the American
Legislative Exchange
Council (ALEC) in order to establish special
protections for
corporations engaged in harmful practices that
attract opposition and
protest. There is no real known threat to
pipelines from criminals and
vandals to justify these bills. They are instead
rooted in animus
against anti-pipeline protesters and disfavored
social movements.
<strong>Whenever states enact legislation based
on animus towards
particular political speech, it has a chilling
effect that will be
felt widely. </strong>The real targets of
these bills are the civil
society groups that help organize pipeline
protests or support
grassroots activists on the ground. The steep
fines are meant to
silence them and discourage them from supporting
such efforts.</p>
<p><strong>For these reasons, we urge you to
oppose HB1633</strong>.
</p>
<h2><u>What You Can Do to Oppose HB 1633</u></h2>
<p>Once again, HB 1633 is set for a hearing before
the <a
href="http://www.ilgp.org/r?u=YcZqQnE0bk40OWjkW5W0Kd6P8OP8Ly_wn4mT__FzWB_vOdI4In1JD7rP6NJtYNvpl-nBFXYVQjfRPIFOeH8CU7qBH9XhtOXVatZgsr3jy_c&e=86b87912756f6790f73a8cbac9ebf7c3&utm_source=ilgp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=action_alert_hb_1633&n=4"
moz-do-not-send="true">House
Judiciary - Criminal Committee</a> <strong>tomorrow,
Tuesday, March
5th, at 4 p.m.</strong> <strong>You can let
members of this committee
know that you oppose HB 1633 by filling out an
online witness slip
stating your opposition.</strong>
A witness slip is an on-line form
that allows citizens to make their support or
opposition known to
Illinois House and Senate committee members
without physically
attending a hearing. (Of course, if you happen
to be near Springfield,
you can also attend the hearing in person.)</p>
<p>If you have never filled out a witness slip
before, it is best to
first create an account by registering <a
href="http://www.ilgp.org/r?u=DOVBox0G5uToFZDtvR0StG1o5On6tfubIUhrT4QJcWWDr1p3yY5YisKi7-n2UkU4&e=86b87912756f6790f73a8cbac9ebf7c3&utm_source=ilgp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=action_alert_hb_1633&n=5"
moz-do-not-send="true">here</a>.
This is a short and easy process. However, you
can also fill out a
witness slip as an unregistered user, by
following the procedure
described beginning on page 21 of this <a
href="http://www.ilgp.org/r?u=DOVBox0G5uToFZDtvR0StKILiNMcClBx_k5ZCWEc0FVjvmgD3ssqmXf9E_dR2mHtGiyNLV3qR9Zn4hoZR80nmOA_plI_OOtGHkcEs03-Qk8&e=86b87912756f6790f73a8cbac9ebf7c3&utm_source=ilgp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=action_alert_hb_1633&n=6"
moz-do-not-send="true">user
manual</a>.</p>
<p>Once logged in, you can click <a
href="http://www.ilgp.org/r?u=DOVBox0G5uToFZDtvR0StDQSq3MZ1qpA_56Bliedx239Q5hfFcVh7WxmF1iJjjntVu9BJO9lPL8oHKjXKz6rtBvsbw_2V_ujAYYXN9ZgZl-gcJjps8GuGr3GAMgrG0lUJs0XOBJ8t1DadkXwbvUY7Q5BK3JpOLdD-iRReknpzOXcMnX2hR7SwWPGsYyJjj2G0Ar5WLUiFeO3Yeaw2-CL9Q&e=86b87912756f6790f73a8cbac9ebf7c3&utm_source=ilgp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=action_alert_hb_1633&n=7"
moz-do-not-send="true">here</a>
to submit your witness slip in opposition to HB
1633. In the top
section, enter your name, complete address and
phone number. Be sure
to fill out each part of the top section – you
can enter “Self” under
“Firm/Business or Agency” if you do not wish to
enter one, and “N/A”
if you don’t want to enter a title. The Illinois
Green Party has
already entered a slip in opposition to this
bill, so it is not
necessary to fill out section II unless you wish
to do so on behalf of
a different organization. However, be sure to
check “Opposition” to
the “Original Bill” in section III. In section
IV, check “Record of
Appearance Only.” Oral or written statements can
only be submitted in
person or by contacting the committee
chairperson to do so.</p>
<p><strong>Secondly, you can contact your own <a
href="http://www.ilgp.org/r?u=YcZqQnE0bk40OWjkW5W0KY5dG0T6KVUREclzhhCUZi4&e=86b87912756f6790f73a8cbac9ebf7c3&utm_source=ilgp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=action_alert_hb_1633&n=8"
moz-do-not-send="true">representative</a>,
and/or the members of the <a
href="http://www.ilgp.org/r?u=YcZqQnE0bk40OWjkW5W0Kd6P8OP8Ly_wn4mT__FzWB_vOdI4In1JD7rP6NJtYNvpl-nBFXYVQjfRPIFOeH8CU7qBH9XhtOXVatZgsr3jy_c&e=86b87912756f6790f73a8cbac9ebf7c3&utm_source=ilgp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=action_alert_hb_1633&n=9"
moz-do-not-send="true">House
Judiciary - Criminal Committee</a> and ask
them to oppose HB
1633.</strong> (If you are not sure who your
current representative
is, you can check your voter registration card
for the district
number, or look it up by checking your
registration status <a
href="http://www.ilgp.org/r?u=elD9XTCGokErxnL1zTyPGiA3EEsGiY8bfPtdVYdbun5ZQKkJ4VLZhY6uh7aDiyu7jxx3SrhU4TdpHauzE-HK8A&e=86b87912756f6790f73a8cbac9ebf7c3&utm_source=ilgp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=action_alert_hb_1633&n=10"
moz-do-not-send="true">here</a>.)</p>
<h2><strong>Other Illinois Green Party News:</strong></h2>
<p>-- <strong>We are also asking for your support
on a number of
anti-fracking bills this legislative session.</strong>
We will follow
up with more information soon, but meanwhile,
you can view this <a
href="http://www.ilgp.org/r?u=lY3dD7-e2KywzGD8oGL14aDEghKrhTeNlUaE6DjutexEzBGVRrL2nz0tQxFFgnfcoHQpGAl0jfmkqrlrKVBBx12OZuJLgu1Xawpcrb1WnmEFpMrX1NBEwPBuNH1sr6oh&e=86b87912756f6790f73a8cbac9ebf7c3&utm_source=ilgp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=action_alert_hb_1633&n=11"
moz-do-not-send="true">summary</a>
at the website of the Illinois Coalition Against
Fracking, a coalition
supported by the Illinois Green Party.</p>
<p>-- <strong>We are also asking for your support
for <a
href="http://www.ilgp.org/r?u=YcZqQnE0bk40OWjkW5W0KUxv8z-hiSG2PYxkpkGyjD5CDmXjHxMNm1kbLx4_KwwsvReSwJTJMZwzR0WyxHpJvTg9y0ACKwwkDI505hEI1p7oRMEGw8BDu2EzesptRVBZaqHL2xsXRxUNHiSbDJIynZ_zFOUY835ayM7Ur8pXgtc&e=86b87912756f6790f73a8cbac9ebf7c3&utm_source=ilgp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=action_alert_hb_1633&n=12"
moz-do-not-send="true">Senate
Bill 141</a>, an important bill to reform
Illinois’ highly repressive
ballot access laws,</strong> which unfairly
impose ridiculous barriers
to the rights of minority party candidates to
appear on the ballot. We
will be following up with more information on
that bill soon.</p>
<p><strong>-- Save the date! Our Spring Conference
will be held on
Saturday, April 13th, at </strong><strong>Citlalin
Gallery, 2005 S.
Blue Island, Chicago. </strong>This will be a
one-day conference with
an emphasis on discussing strategy for 2020; it
will also include
election of officers for the next year and other
important party
business. There will also be a fundraising
dinner. Details to be
announced.</p>
<p><strong>-- Reminder: If you have not already
done so, </strong><a
href="http://www.ilgp.org/ilgp_dues?e=86b87912756f6790f73a8cbac9ebf7c3&utm_source=ilgp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=action_alert_hb_1633&n=13"
moz-do-not-send="true"><strong>please
become a duespaying member</strong></a><strong>
of the Illinois Green
Party.</strong> Becoming a duespaying member
is a requirement for
participating in our decision-making. We are a
grass-roots party and
we rely on member contributions – no corporate
funding allowed – to
finance our activities. This is the party that
fights for you, but we
ask you to support it. A political party is only
as strong as its
members make it, by what they do or fail to do.
For “us” to succeed,
<u>you</u> need to be an active part of “us.” We
are not asking a lot
– standard dues are just $60 a year, and only
$12 a year for persons
of low-income – but we do ask you to make this
modest contribution to
help our efforts to build a better future for
all Illinoisans.</p>
<p><br>
ILGP Media<br>
<a
href="http://www.ilgp.org/?e=86b87912756f6790f73a8cbac9ebf7c3&utm_source=ilgp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=action_alert_hb_1633&n=14"
moz-do-not-send="true">http://www.ilgp.org/</a></p>
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-=-=-
<p
style="color:#333333;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5;">
Illinois Green Party · 213 S Wheaton Ave,
Wheaton, IL
60187, United States
<br>
<br>
</p>
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