Of Eavesdropping and Irony at the Paul Simon Institute

Maybe I should just re-run this article entitled,

Manipulating a Reformer,”

about how Jeanne Hurley, future bride of Paul Simon and mother of Illinois Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon, sponsored and co-sponsored House Bill 1210 in 1957 to tighten eavesdropping laws in Illinois.

My source was former State Rep. Roland Libonati. He, some of his Democratic Party pals like Mike Nardulli and I were in the Springfield train station waiting to take Amtrak to Chicago. It must have been hear the end of the session, because the weather was pleasant.

He was telling how those not appreciative of Jack Mabley’s stories about bribery by the currency exchange lobbyist that resulted from tape recordings made by a party unknown and given to the Chicago American reporter.

Visiting Professor William H. Freivogel of the Paul Simon Policy Institute writes of how Illinois’ eavesdropping laws are among the strictest in the country.

Apparently he does not know of the role that his institute’s namesake and his wife had in enacting our state’s eavesdropping laws.


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