Some lawmakers want to give Illinois residents the right to record police officers. Illinois has one of the toughest eavesdropping laws in the country. As it stands, police and businesses can record citizens, but citizens can not record them back.
Currently, recording an on-duty police officer, on public property, could mean felony charges and up to 15 years behind bars.
State representative Elaine Nekritz is sponsoring an amendment that would legalize recording police and the companies that record their customer service calls. For instance, the kind of calls with a message along the lines of, “this call may be recorded for quality assurance purposes.”
Nekritz said some are against her proposal because they worry recordings can be edited and used improperly.
“Most states don’t have this restriction, and we’re not hearing lots and lots of reports about the problems that have been created by their lack of this protection,” Nekritz said.
If the amended eavesdropping law passes a committee Tuesday, it will go before the full Illinois House of Representatives for a vote. Nekritz predicts the vote will be close, but she’s hopeful that the narrow scope of the amendment will bode well for its passage.
The Brandt Standard 
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.
Posted by Paul Simon | January 5, 2014, 2:30 AM