In the wake of a state audit showing Illinois license plate reader data being shared with federal immigration authorities – in violation of state law – the city of Springfield plans to stay the course with the technology and the company involved.
The audit’s findings resulted in Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias demanding that Flock Safety stop sharing data with the feds. Founded in 2017, the manufacturer of security hardware and software operates automated license plate recognition, video surveillance and gunfire locator systems under contract with law enforcement agencies, neighborhood associations and private property owners. Flock Safety claims to operate in more than 5,000 communities nationwide and perform over 20 billion scans of vehicles every month.
Automated license-plate reading, or ALPR, systems are devices with cameras that are installed at traffic intersections and on police cars. They scan license plates and can be used to create databases to investigate crimes or to locate fugitives.
Giannoulias called on local police departments to reexamine their agreements with Flock and what access they grant other agencies to information collected by their ALPR cameras.
The state’s Trust Act restricts law enforcement in Illinois with collaborating with federal authorities – including Immigration and Customs Enforcement – on immigration issues without a court warrant. Illinois law also prohibits license plate data from being shared with other states that are enforcing laws against abortion.
On June 10, Giannoulias announced his office would conduct a statewide audit following reports that Texas police performed a nationwide search of more than 83,000 license plate reader cameras to locate a woman they said had a self-administered abortion. His office said cameras located in Illinois were included in the search, and the audit also found 262 searches for immigration issues through Flock cameras placed in Mount Prospect in suburban Cook County.
But no change in policy is anticipated in how Springfield uses automatic license plate readers.
“ALPRs are on the cutting-edge of technological advancement of public safety,” Police Chief Joe Behl told Illinois Times in an emailed statement. “The Springfield Police Department has leveraged this technology to its fullest and has seen great results in closing cases and solving crimes because of it.”
The Springfield City Council approved a two-year contract with Flock Safety in December 2021 under former Mayor Jim Langfelder’s administration. At that time, 83 license-plate reader cameras were installed citywide and the council agreed to pay $207,000 per year.
In contrast, the Chicago suburbs of Evanston and Oak Park have responded to the state audit by seeking to end their relationships with Flock.
Evanston recently deactivated all 19 of its Flock cameras and stopped collecting data.
“The findings of the Illinois Secretary of State’s audit, combined with Flock’s admission that it failed to establish distinct permissions and protocols to ensure local compliance while running a pilot program with federal users, are deeply troubling. As a result, the city has deactivated the cameras and issued a termination notice to Flock, effective Sept. 26, 2025,” the city of Evanston said in a prepared statement.
Holly Beilin, a representative of Flock, told IT that it is contesting Evanston’s decision on the grounds that it violates its contract with the firm.
The audit found some Illinois information had been shared with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. But Beilin said that information may have been used by the federal agency to investigate human trafficking or some matter other than civil immigration enforcement.
Behl declined to comment on whether restrictions on such data sharing are good public policies. But he added Springfield does not share its license-plate data with federal agencies.
In the wake of the audit, Flock has paused its pilot program with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other federal agencies, not only in Illinois but nationwide, Giannoulias said.
“This sharing of license plate data of motorists who drive on Illinois roads is a clear violation of the state law. This law passed two years ago aimed to strengthen how data is shared and prevent this exact thing from happening,” Giannoulias said.
Beilin said Flock did not violate the law.
She said the law enforcements agencies own the data collected. And if data is inappropriately shared between police departments, that is their responsibility, Beilin said.
The data-sharing component poses significant problems because some law enforcement agencies behave more responsibly than others, said Ed Yohnka, spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois.
“Readers are a powerful surveillance tool that lets you literally follow or monitor hundreds and thousands of people in a municipality like Springfield. And they often don’t come with any of the attendant privacy policies that are necessary for that kind of tool,” Yohnka said.
“You can say as a municipality: ‘We are only going to use these devices for these criminal activities, (such as investigating) gun crimes.’ The problem is, if you are sharing this data with other communities, your privacy policy is only as good as whatever the weakest link is in that chain,” he said.
Scott Reeder, a staff writer for Illinois Times, can be reached at sreeder@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in September 25-October 1, 2025.
If instead of the Trump administration searching for illegal immigrants, it were the Biden administration searching for US citizens who violated COVID lockdowns, the State of Illinois would be tripping over itself to share that data as quickly as possible.
The democrats LOVE criminals!
Luckily for him, the democrat voters are so checked out and/or delusional that he will continue to get away with it. They literally let criminals run rampant to do what they do best, commit crime, and then cheer it on. But at the same time, if the candidate is Newsom or whomever then the same applies. 30 second montages of the candidate and their state/city/whatever back and forth, don’t do reruns just put out a different one every day if not every morning+afternoon+evening.
I agree with both of you! These will definitely only be used on criminals and illegal immigrants and not on normal, law abiding citizens! I love the surveillance state!
Hi Hot Dog Enjoyer,
The surveillance state is already here. There’s no way to turn back that clock. So the question becomes, will the surveillance state be used for good or for evil?
The republicans want to use the surveillance state to protect ordinary people. The democrats want to protect criminals while using the surveillance state to crack down on ordinary people.
It will only be used for evil no matter who is in power. Suggesting anyone in government is trustworthy (including Republicans) is incredibly naive.
Hi Hot Dog Enjoyer,
Suggesting that both sides are equally untrustworthy is beyond naive and entering into willful ignorance.
The democrats demonize and dehumanize ordinary people while elevating wickedness and immorality.
Now you are being disingenuous. Or maybe you just didn’t actually read my comment. You said that the “Republicans want to use the surveillance state to protect ordinary people.” That is what naive and, in fact, willfully ignorant because you believe you can rely on a government to protect you and therefore relieve yourself of that responsibility.
Hi Hot Dog Enjoyer,
Of course you can rely on the government to protect you in some ways.
For example, one way the government can protect ordinary people is by deporting illegal immigrants. I can’t deport illegal immigrants myself so I must rely on the government to do that.
The republicans want to protect me by deporting the illegal immigrants but the democrats will not allow them to do that. The democrats prefer to protect the criminals.
The GOP leads the Democrats by 7 percentage points on the economy, 13 points on immigration and a whopping 22 points on crime. You’ve got to admire how shameless Pritzker is. No rational person can believe that Democrats are better on crime and immigration.The guy has the ability to say absolutely anything. If lying were an olympic sport, this guy could win the gold medal.
LETS GO BRANGDON!
The democrats LOVE criminals!
You’ve got to admire how shameless Pritzker is.
Don’t bother arguing with Burger Addict. Arguing with fascists gives them fuel and drains your energy. Use that energy to change something instead, even if it’s only just your own mind.