[CIMC-work] New storyblock on Chicago Police Spying.

[DickReilly at aol.com]

Hey all. 

Here's the copy for the storyblock on police spying. Lots of links, but IMHO, 
useful resources to provide at this point. Feel free to amend, edit  for 
content. Apparently the groups listed below will hold a press conference on 
Wednesday, February 25th at 11:30 am in front of police headquarters, located at 
36th & Michigan, so this remains a story in progress.  

There will also be a press conference to denounce the city's decision to turn 
down the permit request for the March 20th anti-war march, at 11:00 in front 
of Daley's office on the 5th floor of City Hall. This is expected to be fairly 
lively and well attended.  

- Best
Dick  

Internal Audit Reveals Chicago Police Continue to Spy on Activist Groups    

Chicago undercover police infiltrated five local social justice groups in 
2002 and launched four other spying operations in 2003, according to a CPD 
internal audit obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times. The 5 groups - The Autonomous Zone
, The American Friends Service Committee, Chicago Anarchist Black Cross, Not 
in Our Name, and the Chicago Direct Action Network - were targeted in advance 
of anti-corporate and pro-labor protests [see CIMC protest coverage] organized 
against the Trans Atlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) summit held in Chicago in 
November of 2002. 

The police spying came in the wake of a January, 2001 federal appeals court 
ruling that gutted restrictions intended to prevent police and FBI spying on 
political dissidents. The restrictions were included in a 1981 consent decree 
stemming from a 1974 lawsuit by the Alliance to End Repression. The suit charged 
that the FBI's Chicago office and the Chicago police routinely violated First 
Amendment rights when investigating dissidents. The suit particularly 
targeted the CPD Intelligence Division, dubbed the "Red Squad" because of its 
infiltration and disruption of progressive political and community organizations 
during the 1960-70's. 

Chicago police refuse to disclose additional information about the 2003 
spying operations, or about latest efforts to collect information on local peace 
and social justice groups. However, a confidential FBI memo (PDF) leaked to the 
New York Times last October urged local law enforcement agencies to step up 
intellegence gathering against anti-war organizations. 

Related Local Links: National Lawyer's Guild - Chicago | ACLU-Illinois 

National Lawyer's Guild Info Sheets: 
What You Can do to Prevent Further Harassment of Free Speech Activity (PDF) 
Dealing With the Police: General Guidelines for Activists (PDF). 
Know Your Rights: Link to the NLG webpage for this important publication in 
English, Spanish, Arabic, Farsi, Punjabi, and Portuguese. 

Additional Web Resources: 
Acivist Security and Security Culture: From the Partnership for Civil 
Justice. | Safety and Security for Activists - Public Eye | Security Culture: A 
Handbook (PDF): From securty.resist.ca | How to Handle the Heat: A guide from the 
People's Law Collective, NYC. | Interactivist Network: A secure activist 
communications network. | Electronic Privacy Information Center | Electronic 
Frontier Foundation 

    

    
    
    


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