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Bill Bans Police Ticket Quotas in Illinois

Update: the bill passed, and was signed into law.

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When it comes to evaluating the effectiveness of a police officer, how many “bad guys” they caught is a popular measurement. But a bill making its way through the Illinois legislature would make tallying those counts more difficult, as it would ban ticket quotas and stop agencies from evaluating officers on the number of tickets they issue.

Ticket quotas are a reality in many police departments, even those that deny it. And the controversy surrounding such quotas are not new. [Read more…]

Lawsuit Alleges Chicago Police Repeatedly Shoot Innocent Robbery Victim

A Chicago store owner is suing his city after having to undergo surgeries and long-term therapy for what started as a robbery and ended as a police shooting. Just over one year ago, Bassil Abdelal was robbed by armed gunmen at his store (B&B Beauty Supply) on the West Side of the city. He called the police, like any normal citizen would, but their response was not one he expected. [Read more…]

Recording Arrests In IL Still a Serious Felony

This spring, when hundreds of international dignitaries arrive in Chicago for the G-8 summit and NATO, thousands of protesters and journalists will follow. Chicago is in for a crowded and eventful May, particularly given the number of potential arrests that will be made—protests at these events are notoriously volatile. But, in addition to protesters, cops could be arresting any journalists who record them under the state’s current “draconian” wiretapping law. [Read more…]

Woman Found Not Guilty of Felony for Recording Cops

Tiwanda Moore filed a report with the Chicago police department that she had been sexually harassed by an officer. When to police internal affairs officers came to investigate her claims, she felt they were trying to scare her into changing her report and dropping the allegations—so she recorded them. She was then charged with a felony for the recording and faced up to 15 years in prison. [Read more…]

Illinois Hispanic/Black Drivers More Likely to Be Ticketed and Searched

New numbers released from the Illinois Department of Transportation reveal what many minorities already knew—that Hispanic, Black, and Asian drivers are more likely to be ticketed and more likely to be searched when stopped by police. As a result, the ACLU has called on the U.S. Department of Justice to review how the state police handle such searches. [Read more…]

ACLU Suing Over Illinois Eavesdropping Act

In Illinois it’s illegal to record a police officer acting in the line of duty even though they can record you. According to Adam Schwartz with the American Civil Liberties Union, “It’s an unfair and destructive double standard.” In an effort to prove that the ACLU filed suit in federal court to challenge that law.

The Illinois Eavesdropping Act makes it a crime to record any conversation without consent from everyone present. The ACLU states the act violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and that people should be able to record (especially police) while acting in the line of duty. [Read more…]