Action Alert: Illinois Anti-Drone Bill Coming up for State Senate Vote

Illinois SB1587, Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act, passed the State Senate Committee on Criminal Law with a 7-2 vote.  It will now have a hearing and vote in the full State Senate.  Your help is needed right now to get it passed!

The bill is now is up for its second reading on March 12th, 2013 and will soon be up for a final vote in the full Senate. Help nullify drone spying in Illinois by contacting your State Senator.  Telling them to vote in YES on SB1587.  The link to the bill can be found here.

ACTION ITEMS

1. Contact your State Senator.  Strongly, but respectfully, let them know that you’ll accept nothing less than a YES vote on SB1587

Contact information here:
http://www.ilga.gov/senate/default.asp

2.  Encourage your local community to take action as well. Using model legislation from the Tenth Amendment Center, you can introduce legislation to nullify Drones in your city, town, and county with the Privacy Protection Act .

Model legislation here: http://tenthamendmentcenter.com/legislation/privacy-protection-act/

3.  Share this information widely.  Please pass this along to your friends and family.  Also share it with any and all grassroots groups you’re in contact with around the state.  Please encourage them to email this information to their members and supporters.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

SB1587 Creates the Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act. Permits the use of a drone by a law enforcement agency: (1) to counter a high risk of a terrorist attack by a specific individual or organization if the United States Secretary of Homeland Security determines that credible intelligence indicates that there is that risk; (2) if a law enforcement agency first obtains a search warrant signed by a judge authorizing the use of a drone; or (3) if a law enforcement agency possesses reasonable suspicion that, under particular circumstances, swift action is needed to prevent imminent harm to life or serious damage to property, or to forestall the imminent escape of a suspect or the destruction of evidence.

While the bill only limits drone use by state and local government, it will have some serious impact on intended results being pushed by the federal government. At this stage in the ‘drone game,’ the feds are working hard behind the scenes to get states to operate the drones for them.

In fact, the primary engine behind the expansion of drone surveillance being carried out by states and local communities is the Federal government itself. Department of Homeland Security issues large grants to local governments so that those agencies can purchase drones. Those grants, in and of themselves, are an unconstitutional expansion of power.

The goal? Fund a network of drones around the country and put the operational burden on the states. Once the create a web over the whole country, DHS steps in with requests for ‘information sharing,'” he said. “Bills like these put a dent in this kind of long-term strategy. Without the states and local communities operating the drones today, it’s going to be nearly impossible for DHS plans to – take off.