|
 State Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook, has introduced legislation
that makes it legal to record audio of on-duty police in public
places.
The 1994 eavesdropping law prohibiting the recording of on-duty
police officers hasn't changed to keep pace with advancements in
technology, Nekritz said.
"Citizens are being charged under the current law for (doing
nothing) more than what thousands of citizens do every day in
Illinois, and what we all do, which is to pull out our cellphone,
open up the camera and start recording," Nekritz said Wednesday
during an Illinois House Judiciary Committee hearing.
It's legal to record video of on-duty police, but if audio is
introduced, the act becomes a Class 1 felony.
Only Massachusetts and Oregon have similar state statutes.
"Everybody using cellphones who are using the video function or a
video camera for that is not aware of it, and we're making felons,
serious felons, out of ordinary citizens," said Robert Loeb, a
Chicago-based lawyer and member of the Illinois State Bar
Association.
Ignorance is no excuse, said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney
Patrick Coughlin.
Coughlin and other opponents of the measure say it unfairly favors
the rights of civilians over the rights of police officers. Officers
navigate a maze of bureaucracy to record a person in public. This
law would pave the way for anyone with a cellphone to record police
officers doing their jobs, he said.
"This is going to be akin to the gonzo-type of news reporting ...
and they would be literally in your face," said Dan Nelson, director
of governmental affairs for the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police
State Lodge, a police union.
Nelson said he is worried about third-party recording of
conversations between an officer and a witness, suspect or victim.
That could have a chilling effect on the tips police rely on to
solve crimes, Nelson said.
Coughlin raised other safety concerns regarding the officers.
"There's going to be an increased danger in stops. You're going to
have situations where people are reaching into their pocket and
pulling out a black object and pointing it at the officers," he
said.
[to top of second column] |
 Loeb said the law would protect the majority of police officers.
"We are protecting the multitude of good police officers who are
doing their jobs. ..., As to the few bad cops, we are either
deterring them from any bad actions because they would know they
could be taped, or we're exposing them," Loeb said.
Coughlin and Nelson called for changing the entire eavesdropping
statute so only one person in a conversation must approve of
recording it. Now, both parties involved in a conversation must
agree to an audio recording. Making Illinois a one-party consent state would create legal
equality between police and civilians, Coughlin and Nelson said.
At least two cases involving the current eavesdropping law could
make Nekritz's measure moot by overturning the statute. One case is
sitting in the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals; the other is
in the Illinois Supreme Court. The earliest decision on either case
would be later in February.
The Cook County state's attorney's office is pushing ahead with
prosecuting people under the law as it is currently written, despite
a request from lawmakers to pause the cases until a ruling on either
one of the pending legal cases comes down from the courts.
Nekritz's measure passed out of the committee by a 9-2 vote
Wednesday and moves to the House.
Several committee members gave their support to Nekrtiz's
legislation with the caveat that it needs work, especially on
narrowly defining which areas are public and which are private.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By ANDREW THOMASON]
 |
