The Chicago Sun-Times has an editorial today about the use of surveillance drones nationwide, and local efforts to place modest limits on their use by law enforcement. There were a whopping 96 bills related to drone surveillance in 42 states that came up this year alone. Illinois was one of eight states to pass drone regulation legislation -- a bill that was signed by Governor Pat Quinn this summer. Already, lawmakers are looking ahead to prepare for the next step in protecting our rights to privacy as surveillance technology advances.
State Sen. Dan Biss, D-Evanston, who was chief Senate sponsor of last spring’s drone bill, said he is planning to offer similar legislation to regulate private drones, along with measures to govern how cellphone and GPS tracking data is used. The rest of the Legislature should join him in getting the job done.
