If You've Got Nothing to Hide (From Unmarked Cop Cars)

Via Drudge comes word that the City of Broad Shoulders is kitting out unmarked police cars with "a Big Brother bonus" -- hidden, high-powered microphones to eavesdrop on street conversations.

"You could pull into a street corner and, if there's a drug deal going on a half-block away, you can hear what's going on. You could have all the windows shut and the air-conditioning on and you could hear everything going on outside the vehicle," [Chicago PD Fleet Management Commissioner Michael] Picardi said.

Ed Yohnka, spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, said he would be concerned if the police recorded those conversations without a warrant.

"It would raise serious questions under the Fourth Amendment and the Illinois eavesdropping law," Yohnka said.