Check out the New York Times article about nationwide law enforcement surveillance efforts, and certain state's laws that prohibit citizens from recording police conduct. The ACLU of Illinois has been involved in the case of ACLU v. Alvarez, in which we challenge the application of the Illinois Eavesdropping Act for recording conversations with police that take place in public, and can be heard with the unassisted human ear.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, arguing that Illinois’s statute violates the First Amendment and would keep the organization’s members from monitoring citizen-police interactions, filed a lawsuit in 2010 challenging the law. A district court dismissed the case. The civil liberties group is now appealing the judgment.
