House approves change to eavesdropping law

By Jamey Dunn 

The Illinois House today approved a bill that supporters say would bring the state's eavesdropping law in line with modern technology.

Senate Bill 1808 would allow people to make audio recordings of police officers who are on duty and in public. Currently, making such a recording without permission is a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The 7th Circuit U.S. Courts of Appeals recently barred enforcement of the law as the court takes up a related case, and a preliminary ruling from the court said that it was likely unconstitutional. Other Illinois courts have ruled that the law is unconstitutional.

Rep. Elaine Nekritz, who sponsors the bill, said that these rulings provide lawmakers with an even more “compelling” reason to change the law. Nekritz made a failed attempt to pass another version of the plan earlier in the legislative session before the 7th Circuit Court issued its injunction. “So now we have three Illinois courts telling us: ‘Illinois General Assembly, your statue is unconstitutional. You need to make changes.’”

This new version of the plan includes a provision that Nekritz, a Northbrook Democrat, said she hopes will ease concerns from some law enforcement officials. The measure would bar using an edited recording to file a complaint against an officer. Nekritz said if a doctored recording were used for a complaint, the issue would be referred to a state’s attorney, who would decide whether the offense warranted a felony or misdemeanor charge.

But opponents said the proposal could endanger officers, police investigations and the people trying to make recordings. “I think it’s a liability and a safety issue,” said Democratic Rep. Dena Carli, who is also a Chicago Police sergeant. She said she was concerned that police might mistake somebody pulling out a cell phone to record as somebody pulling out a weapon. Carli said she was worried that people trying to record a situation might get in the way of police because they would have to get close to pick up sound on a recording device. Such crowding could interfere with police work, such as interviewing witnesses at a crime scene. “Video from a distance, that’s fine. You can pick up that video. In order to get that audio, you have to come into close proximity. It’s endangering everybody in that situation.” The current law allows video recording without audio.

Nekritz said that all the laws police currently use to keep people from obstructing their work would still apply, and anyone who interferes with police action would be subject to arrest under such laws.

Supporters of the bill said that it would catch the state law up to address the widespread use of many devices, such as cell phones, that can record audio and video. They say under the current law, people are committing felonies without knowing it simply by doing something that has become a force of habit for many — whipping out a camera phone and recording anything of interest they may see.

“This is a bill whose time has come,” Nekritz said. “I think many of us watched the goings on in downtown Chicago over the weekend with the NATO summit. And you could see the crowds, the police lines, and you could see kids and people with their cell phones held up recording what was going on. … No one would think that that’s really a felony. It’s time we modernize our law and make it consistent with what people expect today.”

Court bars enforcement of eavesdropping bill, but some say legislation is still needed

By Ashley Griffin 

The debate over Illinois’ eavesdropping law has taken yet another turn.

This week, a federal appeals court called for an injunction to block Cook County prosecutors from enforcing a provision in the law that bars citizens from making audio recordings of on-duty police officers. The court reportedly called the provision the “broadest of its kind in the country” and said that it “likely” violates First Amendment rights.

Although a court has ruled on the measure, supporters of Senate Bill 1808, which is sponsored by Northbrook Democratic Rep. Elaine Nekritz, say the measure is still needed. “We applaud yesterday’s decision by the 7th Circuit U.S. Courts of Appeals as it applies to Illinois’ eavesdropping law being unconstitutional,” said Josh Sharp, director of government relations for the Illinois Press Association. “I do make to want clear that the legislative option is certainly something that still remains on the table. We had some questions about the applicability of yesterday’s decision and who exactly it will apply to in the state of Illinois.”

Backers of the bill say they are concerned that the court ruling would only apply to Cook County, leaving downstate residents open to prosecution. Recording a police officer without permission is a felony that carries a sentence of up to 15 years. They say legislation is necessary to clarify the ruling. Nekritz’s bill would allow for the recording of on-duty officers in public places. It would also bar the use of doctored or edited recordings in a complaint against an officer. Law enforcement officials oppose an earlier version of the bill, and it was shot down by the House. But Nekritz hopes that the new version, with its provision to address tampering, will gain more support.