Police across Illinois could use drones to monitor crowds at sporting events, music festivals and other large gatherings under legislation that was debated in the Illinois House on Friday.  However, SB2562 fell 6 votes shy of passage so the Chicago Democrat sponsor used a parliamentary procedure known as “postponed consideration” to set the vote aside to see if he can round up the needed votes before the scheduled adjournment next Thursday.

 

 Supporters favor giving authorities the tool to try to ensure public safety at crowded events, but opponents say putting drone cameras in the sky would be a major invasion of privacy.

 

The proposal comes in response to the mass shooting at a Las Vegas country music festival last fall, and the fact the shooter had first rented rooms at Chicago’s Blackstone Hotel overlooking Grant Park during the Lollapalooza music festival but never showed up.

 

Under the legislation, police departments could use drones to monitor public or private events of more than 100 people. The devices could be used to track crowd size and movement, as well as identify criminal activity and figure out how many officers should be on patrol.

 

State Representative Tim Butler (R-Springfield) spoke against the proposal during floor debate...