EFF Asks Illinois Appellate Court to Block Unmasking of Anonymous Online Critic: Via EFF.org Updates.

Chicago - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Media Freedom and Information Access Practicum (MFIA) at Yale Law School filed a friend-of-the-court brief today urging the Illinois Court of Appeals to block the unmasking of an anonymous online critic of a local political candidate.

The critic, commenting on a story on the website of a suburban Chicago newspaper called the Daily Herald, engaged in a heated debate with other commenters. One turned out to be the son of the village trustee candidate in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, who was discussed in the article. The candidate, Lisa Stone, who eventually won her race, asked a state court to order the newspaper to release the critic's name and address without appropriately showing that the statements directed towards her son were defamatory or otherwise illegal. Stone indicated that she may choose to subsequently file a lawsuit once she determines the critic's identity through the pre-complaint procedure.

"Because of the enormous potential for abuse, the First Amendment requires litigants to demonstrate that they have a legitimate case before they can use the courts to unmask anonymous online critics," said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Matt Zimmerman. "Insults are not enough, especially when the conversation takes place in the context of a political campaign." [ Read more ... ]

Feds’ Smart Grid Race Leaves Cybersecurity in the Dust: Via Threat Level.

Amid the government-funded rush to upgrade America’s aging electric system to a “smart grid,” Threat Level is pondering a strange confluence of press releases this week by the White House and the University of Illinois.

Tuesday morning President Obama, speaking at Florida Power and Light (FPL) facilities, announced $3.4 billion in grants to utility companies, municipal districts and manufacturers to spur a nationwide transition to smart grid technologies and fund other energy-saving initiatives as part of the economic stimulus package. [ Read more ... ]

Gov. Blagojevich signs bill to increase penalties for identity thieves targeting Illinois' service members / LDN - Law and Courts: [August 14, 2007] SPRINGFIELD -- Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich signed legislation Sunday that increases penalties for identity thieves who target servicemen and women serving overseas. House Bill 1236, sponsored by state Rep. Jil Tracy, R-Quincy, and state Sen. John O. Jones, R-Mount Vernon, will help protect Illinois' active-duty military personnel and Illinois National Guardsmen from being victimized by identity theft while they are stationed in a foreign country. [ Read more ... ]

Poshard privacy subject of battle: "

'We're talking about Illinois here.'

SPRINGFIELD - Glenn Poshard crafted a populist reputation as a congressman and onetime candidate for Illinois governor, but now as president of Southern Illinois University his legacy could also include a battle to scale back access to government records. At a hearing Wednesday, lawyers for SIU asked the Illinois Appellate Court to block public scrutiny of the taxpayer-funded employment contracts of Poshard and other officials at the state school. Release of such documents would violate the privacy rights of Poshard and the others, the lawyers argued. [ Read more ... ]

Illinois raids welfare to pay for failed video game violence legislation: "

Recent hearings revealed that the State of Illinois spent $1 million defending unconstitutional video games legislation. The story gets even worse when you learn where the money came from. [ Read more ... ]

Libraries in Illinois fight plan for computer restrictions / STLtoday - News - Illinois News: "SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Public libraries throughout Illinois took the political battle over Internet freedom directly to their own patrons on Monday, lobbying libraries' computer users to oppose state legislation requiring software that filters out pornography.

As part of a loosely coordinated, one-day statewide campaign, libraries in the Metro East area passed out fliers, bookmarks and, in one case, installed computer screensavers -- all calling attention to what librarians say is an onerous proposal that would infringe on the budgets of libraries and the privacy rights of library patrons.

A handful of libraries in other parts of the state made that point by shutting down their own Internet services for the day.

One conservative group claims the lobbying efforts may have been an illegal use of public resources. [ Read more ... ]