It’s no news that Illinois has some of the most draconian audio-recording laws in the US, but how’s this for heads-I-win, tails-you-lose? Nevermind that recording any conversation, public or private, without the consent of all those involved can get you serious jail time in the Prairie State–authorities there can do the exact same thing, now, thanks to a new eavesdropping law approved by the state Senate that aims to bust up drug deals that didn’t even take place.
Here’s the language of HB 4081, effective yesterday:
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Using a listening device to eavesdrop on a conversation between a suspect and an undercover officer in the course of a drug investigation is not a crime when the State’s Attorney has determined there is reasonable cause to believe a drug-related offense is about to be committed.
Now, I’m no constitutional lawyer. Nor am I advocating drug use. What’s “reasonable cause,” here, is beyond me.
But I am from Chicago. So while I think it’s not only pretty ridiculous that audio-recording a civilian without consent is a Class 4 felony “punishable by up to three years in prison for a first time offense” (second-time offenders face Class 3 felonies and up to five years in the clink), I can say with relative certainty that, not surprisingly, this new bit of legislation–buried as it is in 17 pages of new Illinois laws–will likely be wielded disproportionately on those lower-income, minority communities across the city’s southside.
Somewhere, a former Illinois senator is maybe (privately) shaking his head.
Reach Brian at brian@motherboard.tv. @thebanderson
