Conversational Privacy – It’s A Thing in Illinois

Illinois’ amended eavesdropping statute, enacted in December 2014, reflects the General Assembly’s effort to preserve conversational privacy while correcting the unconstitutional overbreadth of the former law. By limiting criminal liability to the surreptitious recording of “private conversations” where at least one participant reasonably expects privacy, the revised statute excludes public interactions—such as street arguments, debates, or many encounters with law enforcement—from its reach. The amendments underscore Illinois’ commitment to protecting genuinely private communications without criminalizing the recording of conversations that occur in public settings.