ACLU sues to block law making it illegal to record cops

Article

A lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court in Chicago seeks to stop Cook County prosecutors from charging citizens for making recordings of on-duty police officers without their permission.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois sued Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.

The lawsuit seeks an injunction to prevent prosecutors from charging ACLU officials and volunteers with violating a law that makes recording cops a felony under the state’s eavesdropping statute.

The 20,000-member ACLU of Illinois intends to launch a program of monitoring police activity in public places using audio and video recording devices, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit notes that Christopher Drew, 59, of the 1500 block of West Jonquil Terrace in Rogers Park, is facing felony eavesdropping charges.

I don't always think the ACLU does much good, but this I must commend. We should be able to record police officers at all times, otherwise the corruption will become out of control. Power and corruption go hand in hand. I have experienced, personally, abuse from police and I applaud the efforts to allow us to record these guys.

On the other side of the spectrum, though... I would hope setting a precedent allowing recordings of police activity would not translate to the private realm of citizens, granting authority (HMMMM PATRIOT ACT ANYONE?) to record our actions...