On Tuesday, January 31st, the General Assembly reconvenes in Springfield, and the ACLU Legislative team will be hitting the ground running.
One of our affirmative initiatives: House Bill 3944 - the Eavesdropping bill, sponsored by Rep. Elaine Nekritz, is scheduled for a hearing in the House Judiciary I - Civil Committee on Wednesday, February 8th at 10 am.
What is House Bill 3944?
House Bill 3944 allows a citizen to record a police officer performing public duties in a public place.
Why Do We Need This Bill?
A number of people around the state have been arrested and prosecuted for audio recording police doing their public duties in a public place, even though the Illinois law currently allows the police to record their conversations with civilians. The ACLU of Illinois is challenging this law because it violates our First Amendment rights to speech and petition, and because it makes Illinois an outlier among all other states.
What Can I Do?
- Click HERE to see if your Representative is a member of the House Judiciary I - Civil Committee. If your Representative is a member, call them before 3:00 pm on Tuesday, January 31st, and let them know that you support House Bill 3944.
- Click HERE to see if you Representative is a sponsor of House Bill 3944. If they are not a sponsor, ask them to support and sponsor the bill. If they are a sponsor, thank them for protecting your First Amendment rights to speech and petition.