Topic:
Eavesdropping exemption
(Noland, D-Elgin) attempts to reverse the Seventh Circuit’s preliminary injunction in ACLU v. Alvarez that held that a citizen had the First Amendment right to audio-record law enforcement officers doing public duty in a public place. The Senate Judiciary Committee and Chairman Noland believes that this is unfair to officers, embarrasses them, and endangers their safety. House Bill 1263 expands the exemption to include the right of officers to record at any time “if there is no reasonable expectation of privacy” and notifies the citizen that he or she is being recorded. It is to be voted on in the Senate today.