The Chicago Sun-Times published an article about the recent Supreme Court ruling in Maryland v. King, which will allow law enforcement to collect DNA samples of suspected criminals upon arrest. The Cook County jail will soon be taking DNA swabs of all of the current inmates to run through the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System in order to connect the inmates to other crimes. The Sun-Times spoke with ACLU of Illinois Communications and Public Policy Director Ed Yohnka:
“Predictably, in the hours since the court’s decision was announced, some, including the Cook County State’s attorney’s office, have called for collection of DNA for more crimes, and upon arrest,” Yohnka said. “DNA is far more than a fingerprint; it reveals sensitive, personal information about us, including making predictions about our health . . . Once massive amounts of DNA is catalogued, it might be shared with others, and lead to genetic discrimination.”
