The Chicago Chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) filed two complaints in Circuit Court on behalf of Mahmoud Yaqub, his wife, and two children. The Cook County Forest Preserve is being sued for religious discrimination because Yaqub and his family were denied admission to a swimming facility.

Complaints of discrimination were filed by a Muslim family against the Cook County Forest Preserve. The complaints claim that county employees at a public pool kicked a Muslim family out because of what they were wearing.

The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations filed two complaints Wednesday in Cook County Circuit Court claiming employees at a public pool discriminated against a Muslim family from Lyons based on their attire.

The parents were not planning to swim, only to supervise their children, the lawsuit said. They had previously been admitted when not wearing swimsuits. "A week later, I sent my sister to go to the water park," Yaqub told WLS-TV, Chicago. "My sister doesn't wear the Muslim veil on her head. She went in a running suit, or pajama. She wasn't wearing swimming trunks. The same lady that denied us entry let my sister in with no problem."

A Brookfield man filed two lawsuits against the Forest Preserve District of Cook County alleging that his wife was denied access to the Cermak Family Aquatic Center because she was wearing traditional Muslim dress. Mahmoud Yaqub went to the aquatic center, which has a wading area, fountains and sprinklers, with his wife and two children.

Two lawsuits were filed Wednesday on behalf of a Muslim family which was allegedly barred from entering a Cook County recreational pool last year because of their clothing.

Amina Sharif issued a statement today on behalf of CAIR-Chicago, condemning the FBI's recent raids on the homes of local anti-war activists who have dedicated their lives towards peacefully organizing for justice at home and abroad.

The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations yesterday filed a discrimination lawsuit in federal court on behalf of 49 Muslims of Somali heritage who were fired from a meat packing plant in Nebraska.

"Here in DuPage county officials seem to be more focused on the types of land that's available in residential areas and want to appease residents' concerns rather than the rights of religious institutions," said Kevin Vodak, attorney for the Chicago chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations.

“A particular concern would be women who wear the hijab because obviously their standards of modesty are probably higher than most people and so they are more concerned about the groping, they are more concerned about the invasion of privacy,” said Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Council on Islamic Relations in Chicago.

"If you wear baggy jeans and you're brought aside for secondary screening for wearing baggy clothing, you are just as much entitled as the woman in a hijab to be able to pat yourself down and then have your hands swabbed for residue. That's the current TSA policy-- it applies to any baggy clothing," said Rehab

Ahmed Rehab talks to Red Eye Radio's Marc Germain about a Muslim woman who was denied service at a convenience store because she refused to remove her hijab.

While CAIR-Chicago believes that Hizb ut-Tahrir has a right to their views that Muslim's shouldn't vote, the organization says that American Muslims must be civically engaged, from voting to running for office. Outreach Coordinator Gerald Hankerson specifically objected to the organizations point that even though Muslims have voted in the United States and around the world, it’s done them little good.

CAIR-Chicago's complaint alleges the Irshad Learning Center’s First and 14th Amendment rights were violated when county officials refused to grant a special use permit to open an Islamic worship site and school. Kevin Vodak, the attorney representing Irshad through the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said the judge hopes to issue her ruling within the next couple of weeks.

"Language is to ideas what the body is to the soul. It is the physical manifestation of thought. It is the mortar with which we shape our understanding of the world." - Ahmed Rehab

CAIR-Chicago Outreach Coordinater Gerald Hankerson discusses Muslim American involement in this election:"Even with the election cycle there is much argument and debate whether Muslims should be involved. One way or another we are living here, and our life is being impacted by whether or not we decide to offer our voice and our balance. So most definitely religion may factor into it on certain issues, such as immigration reform, such as protecting first amendment rights, because we definitely want to see that our faith is not impeded for us to be truly considered Americans,"

When the topic was brought up, yet again, that America has been attacked by Muslims, Ahmed Rehab responds: "Here's also a pattern that you need to be aware of. In almost every one of those cases it was Muslims who helped foil these terrorists plots. In the case of the "underwear bomber" it was his own father, a Muslim, who reported him. In the case of the "time square bomber" it was a Muslim who saw the smoke from the car who reported him. Even in this case Saudia Arabia was actually the country that tipped us off about this plot."

Outreach Coordinator Gerald Hankerson discusses the importance and the potential power of mobilizing young people to vote in elections. He describes some of the efforts CAIR-Chicago makes to reach young people early in life, to instill in them a sense of civic duty.