I believe this is the current version of the bill signed into law by Gov. Quinn.

Click to access 09800SB1342ham006.pdf

Very troubling about the bill is that it actually solves no problems and creates more.

First of all, as any honest Chicago lawyer or judge will tell you, or a litigant, the issue of altered court transcripts is huge.  Mine were altered at my ARDC trial.  Judge Stuart then about 6 weeks later “suddenly retired”.  Coincidence?  I think not.

In jurisdictions where the public are allowed to record the police, the incidence and costs of altercations litigated between the public and police drop dramatically.  Ditto for use of police cameras in uniforms and in the cars.  No surprise there.

Recording only help honesty, it does not help a crook.

The question is, who is putting the anti-recording measures in these bills and what do they have to hide?  Why won’t they let Illinois drop down or out of “most corrupt” state in the nation.  Is it really so very hard to be honest for Illinois public servants?

Let’s face it, you write an email, once you hit “send”, it’s gone.  You no longer have control over it.  You make public statements, they should be recordable as news.

What the Illinois legislature doesn’t get about that, I don’t understand.

The public has to be allowed to record in courtrooms and with the police.  The police are not special, but non-recording makes them special–and vulnerable to charges of corruption.

JoAnne