Hey, Geneva! New Bill Says In-Line Skates Are Vehicles

Planning to go in-line skating on the bicycle path along the river in Geneva this weekend? Then just be aware that—to paraphrase the Ides of March—you're a vehicle, baby.

Or you will be, if Gov. Pat Quinn signs on the dotted line.

The Illinois Legislature May 23 sent Quinn a bill that would require in-line skaters to follow the same traffic laws as all other vehicles on the road.

Under current law, in-line skaters are required to be on the sidewalk, and are not allowed to skate on the road.

“People are skating at too high of speeds to be forced to be on the sidewalk,” the bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Chris Nybo, R-Lombard, told stltoday.com.

The bill, which passed the House 101-16, also prohibits in-line skaters from attaching themselves to cars on the road.

The bill, Senate Bill 3336, will be sent to the governor for his signature.  

Updated Eavesdropping Law Passes State House

Illinois House voted 71-45 May 22 to allow civilians to make audio recordings of police officers exercising their public duties in public places, the State Journal-Register is reporting.

Senate Bill 1808 would create a new exemption in Illinois’ eavesdropping statute, which now allows a penalty of up to 15 years in prison for people who record police officers without their consent.

In an effort to appease law enforcement opposition, the bill’s chief House sponsor, Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook, added a provision that would make it a crime to edit the recording of a police officer if it was submitted as evidence of wrongdoing.

Nekritz and other supporters said it is time to modernize state law.

“This bill does not create any new rights. It decriminalizes behavior that citizens engage in every day,” Nekritz told the Journal-Register.

Other lawmakers wanted to go a step forward. According to the Journal-Register, Rep. Dennis Reboletti, R-Elmhurst, said the answer would be to go to one-party consent—in which recording would be permissible if only one person in a conversation consents. Illinois law requires the consent of everyone involved.

The bill now goes back to the Senate, which has approved a different version of the bill. But the law’s days might be numbered without legislative action anyway. To date, two state judges and one federal judge have ruled that the statute is unconstitutional.