Chicago City Council Moves To Ban 'Upskirting' Despite State Law That Already Does
By Jon Graef in News on May 25, 2014 3:30PM
On Friday, the Chicago City Council moved to ban the practice of 'upskirting' by amending current city code regarding unauthorized video recording and live video transmission.
The amendment of City Municipal Code Chapter 8-4 makes it:
"unlawful for any person to knowingly make a video record or transmit live video of another person under or through the clothing worn by that other person for the purpose of viewing the body of or the undergarments worn by that person without that person's consent."
That's basically city legalese for 'upskirting.' What's interesting about the ban, which punishes offenders with a $500 fine, but no jail time, is that there's a state law on the books that essentially already bans upskirting.
As the Chicago Tribune notes:
[A]n Illinois state law that went into effect in 2005 makes it a crime punishable by jail or prison time to videotape or transmit live video “under or through the clothing” of another person “for the purpose of viewing the body of or the undergarments worn by that other person without the person’s consent.” ...Despite the redundancy and weaker penalty, Sgt. John Nowakowski testified that the Chicago Police Department supports the measure, noting that the Chicago ordinance specifically creates the violation of “upskirting,” while the state statute does not.
The sponsors of the bill, Alds. Edward Burke (14th) and Latasha Thomas (17th), said the urgency of the issue, based on a Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling that effectively OK'ed the practice, was what prompted them to act.
“I was shocked to have state supreme courts saying you don’t have a privacy right when someone takes a picture under your skirt," Thomas said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Burke, as is his wont, had a more colorful way of putting it.
“If it’s happening in Boston, you can bet your boots it’s happening in Chicago.”
The city council in full will vote on the measure next week.