Chris fought the law and he won. He was charged with a Class 1 felony because he recorded his arrest by the Chicago Police for violating a city ordinance by selling art patches in the public way without having a peddler's license. He was facing up to 15 years in the joint - more serious than aggravated criminal sexual assault, which is a Class 2 felony punishable by up to seven years in jail.
I lost track of Chris after meeting him a year ago, and assumed that he was proceeding with his art career after Judge Stanley Sacks declared the Illinois Eavesdropping Act unconstitutional.
Chris had a party in April, 2012 to celebrate the decision. I wrote to him asking if the party was premature because Chicago District Attorney Anita Alvarez and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan vowed to take the case to the Illinois Supreme Court; they cannot admit defeat and would spend as many tax dollars as they could to reverse the decision.
Chris died one month after the party. He had been dealing with lung cancer while fighting the law. The law lost, but the cancer won.
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