City of East Peoria v. Palmer, 980 N.E.2d 774

Defendant Palmer was DUI charged; stop challenged as unlawful; circuit court granted petition to rescind summary suspension and quashed arrest due to lack of reasonable suspicion.
Casino Par-A-Dice reported a possible DUI and provided vehicle description and plate number to police; casino staff indicated the driver was cut off.
Officer Ernst followed a dark green SUV after casino tip and observed alleged traffic violations; stop occurred at a gas-station parking lot.
Video from Ernst’s car and casino witness testimony were offered to prove the stop and observed behavior; credibility issues arose.
Circuit court found no proven traffic violations or reliable casino tip; granted motion to quash arrest; East Peoria appealed.
Court held the stop was improper and the rest of the stop and evidence were suppressed; issue of admissibility of the casino audio recording discussed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the stop was justified by reasonable suspicion	Palmer (East Peoria) argues reasonable suspicion existed	Palmer contends no credible traffic violations or reliable tip	Stop not justified; improper stop
Whether Ernst had probable cause to arrest for DUI	Probable cause existed for arrest	Probable cause insufficient given suppression of stop	Not reached; stop suppressed
Whether the casino audio recording should have been admitted	Recording admissible for its effect on investigation	Recording is hearsay; not admissible	Recording excluded as hearsay; not admissible for truth of matter asserted

Village of Mundelein v. Minx, 352 Ill. App. 3d 216 (2004) (informant reliability factors in Terry stops)
People v. DiPace, 354 Ill. App. 3d 104 (2004) (totality of circumstances; corroboration matters)
People v. Allen, 409 Ill. App. 3d 1058 (2011) (informant reliability; basis of knowledge)
People v. Williams, 181 Ill. 2d 297 (1998) (hearsay exception for effect on listener)
People v. Cloutier, 178 Ill. 2d 141 (1997) (hearsay purpose limits)