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Bill HB4405 / SB2562 in the IL legislature, apparently supported by
Chicago Mayor Emanuel, would allow police to use drones to record
protestors. The ACLU of IL opposes it. It passed in the IL
Senate yesterday - unfortunately Bennett was one of many Yes votes,
though Sen. Biss was among only 6 No votes.<br>
<br>
I'm calling Rep. Ammons' office now to ask her to oppose HB4405 -
hope you will too.<br>
Ammons' office: 217-531-1660<br>
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<span style="font-size:21px; color:#1155CC; text-decoration:none">
ACLU-IL sounds the alarm about bill allowing use of drones to
monitor protesters - Urgent calls to your IL Rep needed </span><br>
<br>
Fran Spielman <<a
href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/author/fspielmancst/">https://chicago.suntimes.com/author/fspielmancst/</a>><br>
@fspielman <<a
href="https://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=fspielman">https://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=fspielman</a>>
| email<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:fspielman@suntimes.com"><fspielman@suntimes.com></a><br>
<br>
The American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday accused Mayor Rahm
Emanuel of<br>
being the heavy hand behind legislation that would allow police
officers to<br>
use drones to monitor the growing number of protests on the
streets of<br>
Chicago.<br>
<br>
The groundbreaking bill would allow drones to be used to hover
over crowds,<br>
for the purpose of taking still photos and making audio and video<br>
recordings of demonstrations. Even more troubling to the ACLU, the
drones<br>
could be equipped with facial recognition technology.<br>
<br>
The legislation has already cleared Illinois House and Senate
committees<br>
and is poised for a final vote in both chambers.<br>
<br>
The bills are sponsored by a pair of Chicago Democrats with close
ties to<br>
the mayor: State Sen. Martin Sandoval and State Rep. John D’Amico,
nephew<br>
of Ald. Marge Laurino (39th), the City Council’s president pro tem
and one<br>
of Emanuel’s closest aldermanic allies.<br>
<br>
“Given Chicago’s history of surveillance against protesters and
social<br>
justice advocates – including by the notorious Red Squad — the
Chicago<br>
police should not be able to use this new, powerful tool to
monitor<br>
protesters near silently and from above,” Karen Sheley, director
of the<br>
ACLU Police Practices Project, was quoted as saying in a news
release.<br>
<br>
“The legislation also ignores sweeping surveillance tools
currently<br>
available to the police – including an integrated public camera
system that<br>
covers much of the city.”<br>
<br>
Sheley noted that the House and Senate versions of the
controversial bill<br>
“effectively guts” legislation passed three years ago requiring a
judicial<br>
warrant for the use of drones by police in Illinois.<br>
<br>
She wondered aloud why that’s even necessary at a time when there
are 2,700<br>
public safety cameras in Chicago that are part of a broader
network of<br>
27,000 private and government surveillance cameras.<br>
<br>
That Big Brother network should be more than enough to keep close
watch<br>
over the growing number of demonstrations protesting the
immigration,<br>
travel ban and environmental policies of President Donald Trump.<br>
<br>
“If this bill is passed, as drafted, during the next large scale
political<br>
rally, drones could identify and list people protesting the Trump<br>
administration,” added Sheley.<br>
<br>
“The sight of drones overhead, collecting information, may deter
people<br>
from protesting in a time when so many want to exercise their
First<br>
Amendment rights . . . This is too much unchecked power to give to
the<br>
police — in Chicago or anywhere.”<br>
<br>
Mayoral spokesperson Julienn Kaviar said the city met with the
ACLU and<br>
“incorporated their input” to develop the proposed update to
Illinois’<br>
drone regulations.<br>
<br>
The goal was “balancing privacy rights and ensuring the safety of
those<br>
attending large-scale events in Chicago – whether at the annual<br>
Lollapalooza music festival or an impromptu World Series
celebration,”<br>
Kaviar said.<br>
<br>
If House and Senate approve the plan, law enforcement agencies
would be<br>
required to report the date, time, location and authorized
exception under<br>
the law in which the drone was used. The police department would
also be<br>
required to delete any surveillance or other information gathered
after 30<br>
days, unless the information is relevant to a criminal matter.<br>
<br>
“Under the current state law, CPD can only use a drone under very
limited<br>
circumstances, such as preventing terrorism. This update simply
allows CPD<br>
to monitor and secure large-scale events where a legitimate public
safety<br>
interest exists in a more efficient manner, as we do currently
with the<br>
existing security camera network,” Kaviar wrote in an email to the<br>
Sun-Times.<br>
<br>
“The proposed updates would not change the existing privacy
protections and<br>
limitations under the current law.”<br>
<br>
Two years ago, a Chicago Sun-Times report that Chicago Police had
opened<br>
six investigation into protest groups since 2009 prompted<br>
<<a
href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-politics/the-watchdogs-spy-cops-chicago-police-routinely-spied-on-protesters/">https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-politics/the-watchdogs-spy-cops-chicago-police-routinely-spied-on-protesters/</a>><br>
the chairman of the City Council’s Progressive Caucus to demand a
hearing<br>
on police spying on protest groups.<br>
<br>
At the time, Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) characterized the police<br>
monitoring of labor organizations, Occupy Chicago, Rainbow PUSH
and other<br>
demonstrators<br>
<<a
href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-politics/alderman-police-need-to-explain-spying-on-protesters/">https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-politics/alderman-police-need-to-explain-spying-on-protesters/</a>><br>
as unnecessary and intrusive.<br>
<br>
After demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri, police began using an<br>
intelligence-gathering center in Chicago they share with federal<br>
authorities to collect Internet data on African-American and
left-wing<br>
groups protesting police tactics.<br>
<br>
Police officials have said the investigations are legal and
crucial to<br>
protecting public safety and they make sure that people’s rights
are<br>
protected.<br>
<br>
But Waguespack maintained that the investigations were “absolutely<br>
politically motivated.”<br>
<br>
The alderman further noted before the NATO Summit in 2012, the
City Council<br>
approved new regulations that required protesters to share event
plans with<br>
the police.<br>
<br>
At the time, Emanuel took issue with the resolution’s claim that
the police<br>
“failed to provide evidence” its surveillance programs require
“any proper<br>
legal evidentiary standard of proof.”<br>
<br>
“We’ll take a look at the notion,” Emanuel said, but he added, “I
do<br>
believe that doing proper policing and civil liberties are
consistent.”<br>
Fran Spielman <<a
href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/author/fspielmancst/">https://chicago.suntimes.com/author/fspielmancst/</a>><br>
Follow me on Twitter @fspielman<br>
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<br>
<a
href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/?post_type=cst_article&p=1070628">https://chicago.suntimes.com/?post_type=cst_article&p=1070628</a><br>
<br>
More coverage of this bill is here:<br>
<a
href="http://www.thedrive.com/tech/20587/police-should-not-be-allowed-to-monitor-protests-via-drone-aclu-says">http://www.thedrive.com/tech/20587/police-should-not-be-allowed-to-monitor-protests-via-drone-aclu-says</a><br>
<br>
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