American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois

What it reported doing in 2024

Legislative: initiatives for this year included an effort to reduce the trauma of family separation and improve youth outcomes by reducing barriers to relative placements when youth come under the care of the dcfs system. The legislation requires court oversight to find family members who can take youth into care - if they must be separated from birth parents - and establishes a kinship navigator program to assist in the process. The bill was signed into law and we are now monitoring its implementation. We also continued our advocacy to protect health data privacy. Although the legislation did not move this session, we successfully won commitments from legislators to work on legislation that will assure that our personal health data is protected when it is collected by third parties. We also successfully pushed a measure that makes an important reform to Illinois law that seeks to reduce the frequency and damage of so-called strategic lawsuits against public participation (slapp). The new law ensures that members of the news media can use the provisions of the law to reduce unnecessary and harassing actions against them. And we worked tirelessly in a coalition to encourage Illinois legislators to pass a measure that would authorize medical aid in dying in Illinois, allowing mentally competent, adult Illinois residents who have a terminal diagnosis of six months or less to obtain a prescription for medicine that will allow them to die peacefully in their sleep. The aclu also supported legislation that expanded access to contraception in higher education facilities in Illinois, a measure that prohibits law enforcement from sharing data from automatic license plate readers with federal or out of state police investigating someone who came to Illinois to seek lawful health care, and a measure that allows doctors in Illinois to continue to access medication no longer approved by the fda if that medication continues to be recommended by the world health organization.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 32.3%; rating input score 32
• Program expense ratio: 76.5%; rating input score 77
• Fundraising efficiency: $49.33 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Missing
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 63.3%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.94; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 59.4%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 12.6% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 15.2% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 21.4% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings