The ACLU has filed suit in federal court in Chicago seeking access to racial profiling data.

The ACLU wants the Bush Administration to show it's serious about promising to fight racial profiling by federal law enforcement agencies.

Toward that end, lawyers for the civil rights group in Chicago Wednesday asked a federal court to order the release of data that will help determine whether federal law enforcement agencies are engaged in racial profiling. The lawsuit seeks the information from the Justice Department and the new Department of Homeland Security under the federal Freedom of Information Act.

The ACLU says,

“If the Bush Administration and the Attorney General are serious about confronting and correcting racial profiling across the nation, a good first step would be to release for public scrutiny all information that gives citizens confidence that their government's actions are lawful and non-discriminatory,” said Harvey Grossman, Legal Director of the ACLU of Illinois. “Making the data collected by federal law enforcement officials available to the public is a step toward building a strong bond of trust and confidence between law enforcement and the people.”