Tagged: eavesdropping

Updated 3:42 p.m. with Illinois Public Radio story.

Reporting by Illinois Public Radio's Brian Mackey used in this report.

Although the NATO protests in Chicago have come and gone, today the Illinois House took a second crack at making it legal to create audio recordings of police. This time the legislation passed.

A federal court in Chicago has granted a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of Illinois' controversial eavesdropping law.

(Read the full ruling here)

The law makes it a felony to make an audio recording of a conversation unless all parties agree and sets out a maximum punishment of 15 years in prison. With the NATO summit coming to Chicago this month, activists had feared protesters and bloggers could run afoul of the law if they used smartphones or video cameras to record police responding to protests.

Updated at 1:55 to correct spelling of judge's name.

A second judge in Illinois has struck down a state law that requires all parties to consent before a conversation can be recorded.

The law in question makes it a felony to record without everyone's permission. Even recording public officials in public places can be illegal.

Cook County Judge Stanley Sacks ruled today that the law was unconstitutional because it could criminalize "wholly innocent conduct."