Illinois Eavesdropping Article, Interception and Civil Remedies (720 ILCS 5/14-2 as rewritten by Public Act 98-1142)

Section 14-2 makes it eavesdropping to use a device in a surreptitious manner to overhear, transmit or record a private conversation without the consent of all parties, whether or not the person recording is a party. It is also eavesdropping to intercept, record or transcribe in a surreptitious manner a private electronic communication to which the person is not a party without the consent of all parties.

Surreptitious means obtained or made by stealth or deception, or executed through secrecy or concealment. A conversation or electronic communication is private only where a party intended it to be private under circumstances reasonably justifying that expectation, which includes any expectation recognized by law.

Using or disclosing information one knows or reasonably should know was obtained in violation of the article is eavesdropping too, unless all parties consent, as is making, distributing or possessing a device knowing its design makes it primarily useful for surreptitious recording or interception where its intended or actual use is contrary to the article.

Section 14-3 exempts a business engaged in marketing, opinion research or telephone solicitation, which for this purpose includes live calls that take orders, assist in the use of goods or services, or administer or collect credit accounts, that monitors or records its employees' calls for service quality control, training or internal research with the consent of at least one active party.

A recording made under that exemption may not be furnished to law enforcement, used in any proceeding, or divulged to any third party; a call unrelated to those purposes must be cut off and its recording destroyed as soon as practicable; and the business must give current and prospective employees notice, including prominent workplace signage, and access to personal-only lines that are not monitored.

Section 14-3 separately lets a person record a conversation to which they are a party, without the other party's consent, on reasonable suspicion that the other party is committing, about to commit, or has committed a criminal offense against them or a household member, where there is reason to believe the recording may capture evidence of it.

Section 14-4 grades eavesdropping a Class 4 felony for a first offense and a Class 3 felony for a second or subsequent offense, and grades eavesdropping directed at a law enforcement officer, prosecutor, or judge performing official duties a Class 3 felony, rising to a Class 2 felony on a second or subsequent offense. Illinois's general felony sentencing law caps a fine at $25,000 for an individual or $50,000 for a corporation unless the specific offense states a greater amount.

Section 14-6 gives any party to the conversation or electronic communication a civil action for an injunction, actual damages, and punitive damages against the eavesdropper or its principal, and against a landlord, building operator, or common carrier by wire who aids, abets or knowingly permits the eavesdropping, with no statutory-damages floor.

Public Act 98-1142, effective December 30, 2014, rewrote the article's definitions and offense after the Illinois Supreme Court held in People v. Melongo that the earlier recording provision, which reached any conversation whether or not private, was unconstitutional on its face.