Audio recording bill moves forward in Ill. House

Created: Wednesday, February 8, 2012 1:02 p.m. CDT

Updated: Wednesday, February 8, 2012 2:35 p.m. CDT

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Artist and free speech blogger Christopher Drew in his Chicago studio recently. Drew was charged under the Illinois eavesdropping law on Dec. 2, 2009, after police arrested him for selling screen prints for $1 on Chicago's State Street without a license. Drew had blogged about his intention to be arrested to challenge the right to sell art in public and put a digital recorder in one of the sandwich bags pinned to his red poncho to display his art. When police discovered the recorder after his arrest, he was not charged with a misdemeanor, he was charged with an eavesdropping felony. He spent three days in jail and faces up to 15 years in prison, with his trial date approaching in late spring of this year. Many more people could be introduced to the Illinois law in May when thousands of protesters and journalists head to Chicago for the NATO and G8 summits. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

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SPRINGFIELD (AP) – A bill letting people in Illinois record public activities by police and other officials is moving forward in the state Legislature.

A House committee approved the bill 9-2 Wednesday, sending it to the House floor for further action.

Rep. Elaine Nekritz says the legislation protects citizens who pull out cellphones or turn on a camera to record events they witness. The Northbrook Democrat says it's important to update the law because international visitors and journalists are coming to Chicago for the G-8 and NATO summits in May.