SPRINGFIELD — A police recording of a drug deal that was not authorized by a judge can still be used as evidence, an appeals panel has decided.A unanimous 5th District Appellate Court ruled state police investigators were within the law when they recorded the deal between a Southern Illinois man and a confidential informant.The panel ruled the recording was proper since the law enforcement agents received permission from a local prosecutor.Justice David K. Overstreet authored the 20-page decision. The opinion held …