On Thursday December 15th, 2011 - the 220th anniversary of the signing of the Bill of Rights into law - CAIR-Chicago’s deputy director Sufyan Sohel, along with members of the interfaith community, spoke at a rally in Federal Plaza in downtown Chicago to oppose new provisions introduced as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.

"It's something that we must take very seriously," said CAIR-Chicago executive director Ahmed M. Rehab. "CAIR-Chicago is very disturbed by this news. The Muslim community is disturbed. People of conscience are disturbed. We've called police to investigate it, and to prosecute it as a hate crime, because that's what it is."

On Thursday, December 8, civil rights and interfaith leaders held a press conference at the CAIR-Chicago office to condemn the controversial new provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 1867) which passed in the Senate last week. SEE PHOTOS

Contact your Senators and demand the removal of provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act which will allow the indefinite detainment of American citizens without charging them for any crime or giving them a fair trial.

Ahmed Rehab, CAIR-Chicago executive director commended the TSA for Egan's firing. "We made it clear that Egan's discourse was as much an embarrassment to the agency and the values it stands for, as it was an affront against Muslims and other minorities," Rehab said in a statement.

CAIR-Chicago commends the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for taking decisive action against an employee who publically spewed racist and bigoted rants against Muslims, African Americans, Latinos, and Homosexuals. Roy Egan had worked at O’Hare airport for nine years where he checked passenger baggage.

Staff Attorney, Rabya Khan, of CAIR-Chicago was back in Grand Island, Nebraska again last week continuing depositions on the JBS Swift Case. CAIR-Chicago is representing about 50 plaintiff intervenors in an U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) discrimination lawsuit filed against JBS Swift in 2010. Khan will be traveling again next week to Minneapolis for defending our clients in their depositions.

CAIR-Chicago successfully resolved another citizenship delay case this month; Civil Rights Director Christina Abraham and Litigation Director Kevin Vodak had worked on the case for more than two years.

CAIR-Chicago filed a complaint in federal court yesterday against The American Bottling Company on behalf of a Muslim man who was unjustly fired from the company after requesting time off on Fridays for Islamic congregational prayers.

After more than a year of CAIR-Chicago raising the issue, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) finally agreed to recognize “Arab” as a race. Just last week, the EEOC headquarters in Washington, D.C. issued an apology letter to CAIR-Chicago Litigation Director Kevin Vodak for the improper classifications and assured him that steps have been taken to prevent further problems.

Staff Attorney, Rabya Khan, of the Chicago Office of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) begins depositions with the JBS Swift Case over employment discrimination lawsuit filed by EEOC in 2010.

The Chicago Office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) recently filed two complaints on behalf of Middle-Eastern men who alleged the USCIS has unlawfully delayed the processing of their citizenship applications.

CAIR-Chicago Litigation Director Kevin Vodak presented the “Hate Crime and Bias Awareness” conference on September 15th, 2011 to discuss the ways in which law enforcement agencies can improve their procedures and techniques in addressing hate crimes.

CAIR-Chicago staff members look back on the 9/11 terrorist attacks, share their stories, and explain how we as a nation can move forward after 10 years.

In the wake of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the Vocalo Overdrive team, Luis Perez and Shantell Jamison, asked Amina Sharif of the Council on American-Islamic Relations about the perception of Muslims in America. Check out what she had to say.

CAIR-Chicago intern, Becky Fogel, created this audio documentary for Vocalo and Chicago Public Media on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks to share perspectives on the media's role in harboring Islamophobia. Becky interviewed civil rights activists in the Muslim community and had them share their thoughts on how public perception of Muslims has changed since 9/11.

Communications Intern Becky Fogel discusses the overblown reaction to a rally at the ICE hearing last week.

On Wednesday, August 17th 2011, CAIR-Chicago staff attorney, Rabya Khan, and communications intern, Becky Fogel, attended a public hearing held by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to discuss the Secure Communities program. The event ended in civil disobedience led by local youth and the arrest of six attendees.