Free Speech Making a Comeback at U of I

Wednesday marked a small yet significant victory for political activists and supporters of the 1st Amendment.


The 2008 political season was an exciting time for the U.S., and the epicenter of this enthusiasm was college campuses across the nation. Students and professors alike were swept up in the most exciting election it at least the last quarter century.


Unfortunately, this enthusiasm did have its opponents, some of whom attempted to stifle it at the University of Illinois.


I am refereeing to a University policy that prohibited university employees from expressing political views or wearing campaign gear. From the Chicago Tribune:

The University of Illinois has sparked outrage by telling faculty, staff and graduate students that a 5-year-old state law designed to prevent state workers from campaigning for candidates on state time or with state resources meant they could not express support for candidates or parties through pins, T-shirts or bumper stickers while on campus. Nor could they attend any political rally or event on campus, the administration said.


The governor’s Office of Executive Inspector General, which investigates ethical violations, has gone one step further, saying state law meant that university students, not just employees, were prohibited from participating in political rallies on campus–an assertion at odds with the university’s interpretation.


On Friday, the state attorney general’s office said the ethics law did not apply to students. The office did not answer whether the law prohibited university employees from wearing political buttons while at work, attending political rallies on campus on non-work time or some of the other specific interpretations made by the university.

As a U of I Champaign-Urban alum and current grad student, I have a firsthand knowledge of the malarkey the university tried to pull. It was beyond ridiculous and was grossly unconstitutional.


It should be noted that this draconian policy was only in force for the first few months of the fall semester as U of I did reverse their policy on October 6 due to public outrage both on and off campus. From the Tribune:

The University of Illinois said Monday that it would allow employees to display political bumper stickers, wear political buttons and attend political rallies on campus, reversing an earlier interpretation of state ethics law that has drawn sharp criticism.


“We, the leadership of the University of Illinois, will preserve, protect and defend the constitutionally guaranteed rights of every member of our university community,” university President Joseph White said in a public advisory. Certain activities barred under the earlier interpretation, he wrote, “conflict, or appear to conflict, with fundamental freedoms.”

Of course, I am happy the University realized the error if its ways. The state law upon which U of I based its initial claim, however, is still on the books. Thus, the door remains open for U of I, or any other IL public university for that matter, to trample on the 1st amendment if they so choose.


Now it is my belief that any such attempt will eventually be shot down by the Supreme Court. Thankfully, state Rep. Naomi Jakobsson (D 103 district, Champaign) has taken the initiative to ensure that it will never come to that.


Rep. Jakobsson is the sponsor of HB 898 and HB 899 which (respectively)protects the rights of university employees in regards to political speech and the right to display campaign materials.


On Wednesday, HB 898 and 899 were both released from the Higher Education Committee. I talked to Rep. Jakobsson later that night and she was very optimistic, with good cause of course, that these bills will easily pass on the floor of the GA and become law.


Great news for college students, employees, and the 1st Amendment. As a constituent of Rep. Jakobsson, just like to say keep up the good work.