Legal Question in Technology Law in Illinois

Every company should have some clearly announced email policy. Technically, if you take home so much as a pencil or pad of paper for personal use, technically that's theft unless your intent is to do company work at home and that is expected. When it comes to emails, yes things get very sensitive and tense, and if your system has security (anti-hacking protocols) on it, then you breached those protocols by sending potentially sensitive ("proprietary") information to your home computer. So, if you were not aware of the policy, or there is none, there are still some things you shouldn't do. Motive may be irrelevant because you did not get permission ahead of time. Unless you are responsible for the integrity of the system, you have no right to decide unilaterally how to protect emails that are on it. Without knowing more, however, and if you have no work contract or other protective work arrangement, you can quit or be fired at any time for any reason or no reason. Next time if you think you want to be a hero, ask first and get permission; don't wind up having to be asking for forgiveness.