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Dear friends, <br>
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<div><span
 style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><br>
Please take a minute to read the story about James
Kilgore, a respected scholar and formerly incarcerated person, being
dismissed from the University of Illinois, and add your name to a
letter of support asking for his job to be reinstated. This is the
national petition endorsed by James.<br>
<br>
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<div><span
 style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Friends
of James Kilgore<br>
</span></div>
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<span
 style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Link
to petition:<a moz-do-not-send="true"
 href="https://www.change.org/petitions/phyllis-wise-chancellor-university-of-illinois-restore-james-kilgore-s-employment-status"
 target="_blank">https://www.change.org/petitions/phyllis-wise-chancellor-university-of-illinois-restore-james-kilgore-s-employment-status</a><br>
<br>
</span></div>
<span
 style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><b>The
Story</b><br>
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<p class="MsoNormal">James Kilgore is a respected researcher, writer,
educator
and criminal justice activist.  For the past three years he has worked
at the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) as a temporary faculty member,
teaching classes
in Global Studies, Urban Planning and the College of Fine and Applied
Arts.
Student evaluations of his work have been overwhelmingly positive,
landing him
on the University’s Excellent Teacher list in 2013. Each of his
supervisors has
given him glowing performance reviews and they had plans to employ him
in the 2014-15
academic year. He has been open about having felony
convictions resulting from political activities in the 1970s and about
having
served six years in prison</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On <a moz-do-not-send="true"
 href="http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2014-02-09/jim-dey-plain-sight.html"
 target="_blank">February
9th</a>, <a moz-do-not-send="true"
 href="http://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/columns/2014-02-16/john-foreman-kilgores-status-leaves-unanswered-questions.html"
 target="_blank">16th</a>,
and <a moz-do-not-send="true"
 href="http://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/guest-commentary/2014-02-23/it-appears-little-has-changed-ex-sla-terrorist.html"
 target="_blank">23rd</a>
of this year, the local paper, the <i>News-Gazette,</i>
published attack pieces on James, highlighting his criminal background,
political activities of the 1970s and questioning UIUC for hiring a
person with such a history.  The articles also pointed to his work in
opposing the construction of a new jail.  On March 22^nd UIUC
spokesperson Robin Kaler told the <i>Chicago Sun-Times</i> James was
doing a “great job” and that he was a “good
example of someone who has been rehabilitated.” <span> </span><b>On
April 9, the University Provost, <span> </span>in a private meeting, <span> </span>informed
James Kilgore that the university
would not approve any future contracts to employ him and declined to
give him
any explanation whatsoever</b> as to why, how and by whom this decision
had
been made. <br>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This decision poses a serious threat to academic
freedom and to employment opportunities for the 15 million Americans
with felony convictions. This must be reversed before we have further
attacks on university employees based on their criminal background,
their political views, race, immigration status or gender identity.
Sign the petition to get James his job back.  <span
 style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Link
to petition:<a moz-do-not-send="true"
 href="https://www.change.org/petitions/phyllis-wise-chancellor-university-of-illinois-restore-james-kilgore-s-employment-status"
 target="_blank">https://www.change.org/petitions/phyllis-wise-chancellor-university-of-illinois-restore-james-kilgore-s-employment-status</a> 
(same as link above)<br>
</span></p>
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<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415 863.9977
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.freedomarchives.org">www.freedomarchives.org</a>
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