In April 2026, community organizers in 11 townships across Illinois submitted petitions to overturn Illinois’ anti-BDS bill that penalizes Americans boycotting Israel. In Champaign County, we submitted petitions to Champaign Township, Cunningham Township, and City of Champaign Township with the following non-binding advisory referendum question:

“Shall the State of Illinois repeal amendments to the Illinois Pension Code that penalize American businesses for boycotting the State of Israel?”

While Champaign and Cunningham Township accepted our petitions, the City of Champaign Township denied our petition. We refuse to have our rights denied by elected officials! We currently have an open case against the City of Champaign Township in the Champaign County District Court and we believe we will win!

Plaintiffs Dua Aldasouqi (CU Muslim Action Committee) and Maryann Blackburn (CU for Palestine) are represented by Zubair Khan of Trivedi & Khan. We are currently raising funds to cover the legal fees and that is where we need your help!

Our goal at this time is to strictly cover the legal fees. We currently anticipate another $15,000 in legal fees to hopefully finish out the case. We'll be fundraising in phases to reach our ultimate goal of $15k, so you may see the fundraising goal update as our donations increase.

Not only would this case help fight Illinois' anti-BDS law, it would help set precedent for townships around the state who want to use this tool for direct democracy. People in at least 12 townships this year petitioned for referenda related to arms embargo or anti BDS, and several were outright rejected.

Please donate to our campaign and help us stand up for free speech in Illinois and Americans’ right to boycott a foreign government accused of crimes against humanity!

**The Township law is clear and we expect to win our case. If we win, we will likely recover most of our legal fees. If this happens, we will be splitting the donated funds between Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and the campaign to get these BDS referenda passed in November.**