April 2, 2014, Chicago – Yesterday afternoon, the Senate Judiciary Committee of the Illinois Senate rejected Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 59, proposed by Senator Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago), that urged Illinois university and college presidents to condemn academic boycotts as a form of protest.

After the overwhelming opposition to his Bill 3017, Illinois State Sen. Ira Silverstein introduced a resolution (instead of a bill) that will be voted on in the Judiciary Committee today, Tuesday, at 3 PM.

CHICAGO, IL (March 19, 2014)—Last night, Loyola University Chicago became the first Jesuit University in the United States to pass a student government resolution to divest from companies complicit in aiding the Israeli Occupation of Palestine.

Illinois State Senate Bill 3017 would deny funding to public universities that participate in a boycott of Israeli academic institutions. It would, for example, prohibit a faculty member from getting funds to travel to an American Studies Association (ASA) meeting, even if that meeting is unrelated to the boycott, or the professor herself is opposed to the boycott. A college that violates the prohibition would lose all public funds for that academic year. According to the legislation’s sponsor, it was drafted in response to the ASA’s recent resolution to boycott Israeli academic institutions, like similar bills around the country.

Time Sensitive. Last chance to act: Make your voice heard! The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) is calling on its supporters to contact their elected state senators to urge that they drop proposed legislation that would restrict academic freedom and free speech rights.