C Drew - Street Artist Adventures

Cell Phone Felony?

C Drew arrested December 2nd, 2009 for selling art in public.

An artist speaking out against an unconstitutional City law is arrested by Chicago Police. Police charge him with a 1st class felony (4-15 years in State prison) for audio-taping his own arrest and send him to Cook County Jail on a $20,000 bond. A car is stopped for traffic violations and the passenger audio-tapes the policeman. The audio recording is aired on the WGN website and written about in the Tribune. The officer is investigated. Why is an outspoken critic on a path to prison and another citizen not charged for the same action?

The Illinois “Eavesdropping” law is overly broad. It considers every conversation to be private unless everyone within ear shot consents to being audio-recorded, and raises the sentence from a 4th class felony for audio-recording anyone to a 1st class felony for recording a policeman in public while on duty. It is up to the police officers discretion to invoke this draconian charge. Or is it?

In the case of the passenger with her cell phone the officer acknowledged the cell phone and did not charge her with eavesdropping. Maybe he thought he would be nice and take the fall for her? In the artist’s case he was arrested for selling art in public, not for eavesdropping, but later charged with felony eavesdropping. The States Attorney had to signed off on his charge. What role did the artist’s history as an activist with the stated goal of “making Chicago more friendly to artists” play in his 1st class felony charge?

I am the artist charged above and I believe I am a test case to begin enforcing the eavesdropping law on you – the public. If I am found guilty of a 1st class felony for eavesdropping on a policeman, many more citizens may be charged with this act. Why? What Chicago policeman will want to appear on WGN and be investigated when they could simply charge you with a 1st class felony for audio-recording their embarrassing moment on your cell phone? We need to change this law.

Christopher A. Drew
Executive Director
Uptown Multi-Cultural Art Center
Free Speech Artist’s Movement
umcac@art-teez.org
http://www.art-teez.org
http://www.c-drew.com/blog

TRIBUNE STORY: TRAFFIC STOP
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-police-racial-comments-20100319,0,3145831.story

HOW MY STORY WAS REPORTED
http://www.c-drew.com/blog/comments-on-suntimes-article-creative-felony/

FEEL ENCOURAGED TO COPY AND POST OR PASS ON IN AS MANY WAYS AS POSSIBLE

The Chicago Zine Fest was a blast. I printed three art-patches by Chaz Morales-Wilson, Jameelah Johnson and Carlos Cortez. This link leads to their website so you can get ready now for next year’s fest.

http://chicagozinefest.org/node/29

MLK on Self-Censorship by Chaz Morales-Wilson

Friday Mach 26th we will be in court at 10:00am at 26th and California in room 602 to submit our motion to dismiss the felony eavesdropping charges against me. Then the State will get some time to respond to our motion (2-4 weeks), then the judge will take time to study the two motions and will rule on them after several weeks or so. Then, if the charges are not dismissed we will ask for a jury trial.

This time flow places our possible trial somewhere between June and August. We have until then to print and give away as much art as possible. I would like to have art-patch exhibits installed before my trial. As many people as possible should hear about this case before the State tries to sentence me. We need lots of help to do this.

We have received over 100 designs reaching this milestone just last week.

How soon do you want a Chicago more friendly to artists? Hey – its fun to print art! Come have some fun and take some art-patch prints home.

Those who volunteer most or at the right times will get to curate one of a limited number of portable art-patch exhibits for moving around Chicago’s Libraries, coffee houses and businesses that accept them. I will move forward with our community art projects as if I were not facing up to 15 years in prison for audio-recording my arrest, for selling art for a dollar on State Street, in Chicago’s Loop.

Home Coming by Carlos Cortez

Please don’t wait for the State of Illinois to put me in jail before you volunteer. Post this e-mail somewhere or tell a friend about our fight for artists’ speech rights in Chicago. Become our friend on Facebook (facebook.com/FreeSAM). Write a comment for posting in the coming giant exhibit of art-patches that we are building. Thank you for reading.
Sincerely,
C. Drew

MORE MENTIONS ON-LINE
http://northernmuckraker.blogspot.com/2009/12/jack-booted-thugs-of-week.html

Show Me Peace and Justice website
http://showmepj.org/resources/detail.php?rid=2325

Seems Americans feel strongly about the Issue of Free Speech
http://www.keepandbeararms.org/news/nl/read_comments.asp?nl=39256682553627&tmpD=12%2F30%2F2009