Illinois Eavesdropping Amendment Bill Killed In Illinois House

[Gidney N Cloyd]

Good ol' SpringPatch. Maybe they shouldn't have combined it with the telephone recording issue, which just confuses the issue more. Deal with taping cops on it's own.

(Also, it's hard to believe this Reboletti clown has a JD from Valpo...)

A bill that would have amended Illinois' controversial Eavesdropping Act to allow on duty police officers to be recorded in public spaces was voted down in the state House Wednesday.

<snip>

Although a Cook County judge ruled the law unconstitutional earlier this month, the law remains on the books, leaning on a similar statewide requirement that all parties consent before conversations can legally be recorded.

Introduced by Rep. Elaine Nekritz, House Bill 3944 would have legalized recording police officers on duty in public spaces, and would permit recipients of telephone solicitations to record their end of the conversation if the caller verbally reserves the same right.

But opponents of the exemption, like Rep. Dennis Reboletti, who voted against HB 3944, argue that the law should protect civil servants before civilians. “Why should [the police] have to go get a court order to record these people when these people can record them?” Reboletti told the State Journal-Register.

The Eavesdropping Act has had several high-profile challenges this year, including lawsuits from Tiawanda Moore, who allegedly recorded police trying to persuade her to drop a sexual harassment charge against another officer, and Christopher Drew, an artist who was threatened with prison time for recording his own arrest on civil disobedience charges. In both cases, judges ruled against the state's eavesdropping policy.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/23/illinois-eavesdropping-am_n_1373688.html?ref=chicago

[CBGLuthier]

1. Law Enforcement MUST be transparent and observable. Anything else is fascism.

Fascists hide behind a construct of laws designed to protect the corrupt.

[OnyxCollie]

2. K&R. nt

[ColesCountyDem]

3. I'd K&R this thread, but that option isn't available, for some odd reason. n/t

[mopinko]

4. wtf happened to this state?

did the teabaggers take over the south? we can't even pass a bill that is already the law? i wish i could believe that anyone voted against it because it was redundant.

[paulsimon]

5. Illinois Eavesdropping Law Still Alive

The illinoiscorruption.net has issued an informational video and a press release, to help the media and the general public in the upcoming oral argument at the Illinois Supreme Court hearing in Annabel Melongo’s eavesdropping case. The hearing is scheduled for January 14th, 2014, at the 18th floor of the Michael A. Bilandic Building, 160 N. LaSalle Street, Chicago at 9.30 am.

Video: http://www.illinoiscorruption.net/common/video-pressrelease.html
Press Release: http://www.illinoiscorruption.net/common/pressrelease.html

Please support this cause. The Illinois Eavesdropping law at its very core creates a two-class legal system wherein the conversations of the powerful and well-connected are protected to the detriment of the less powerful. The upcoming oral argument presents a unique opportunity for the common citizen to re-establish that legal balance that will unequivocally establish a right to record public officials in their public duties.

Therefore, please contribute to this all-important hearing by either attending it, writing about it, spreading the word or just forwarding the below video and press release to anybody who might be of any help.

[Agschmid]

6. Welcome to DU.

How did you find this post you responded to? Google?