Illinois Supreme Court strikes down eavesdropping law

The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the state's eavesdropping law as unconstitutional.

Annabel Melongo spent 20 months in jail, according to the Chicago Tribune, for recording three telephone conversations with a supervisor in the Cook County Court Reporter's Office.

The Illinois eavesdropping statute makes it a crime to record any conversation, even in public, without the person's consent.

The state's highest court ruled that the statute was unconstitutional for being too broad, as it criminalizes the recording of people who have no expectation of privacy, such as those loudly arguing on the street or engaging in a political debate on a college campus.