SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois Secretary of State is seeking a thorough investigation into a police department situated in the suburbs of Chicago following revelations of state law violations concerning the sharing of data from automatic license-plate readers. This was brought to light when the department shared information with a Texas sheriff who was in pursuit of a woman who had undergone an abortion.
Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias has taken the proactive step of requesting an inquiry from the attorney general into this incident. In addition, he is establishing an audit system designed to ensure law enforcement agencies adhere to a 2023 statute that prohibits the distribution of license-plate information for the purpose of tracking women seeking abortions or locating undocumented immigrants.
The incident highlights ongoing concerns that led to the creation of this law, particularly the fear that states with restricted abortion access policies post-Roe v. Wade might resort to such technology to monitor and potentially prosecute women who cross state lines to Illinois for abortion services. “While license plate readers are an invaluable asset for law enforcement, regulations are necessary to prevent their misuse for surveillance of innocent citizens or criminalizing lawful actions,” Giannoulias stated.
There is limited information available regarding states that have similar prohibitions on the sharing of license-plate data. However, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Illinois is amongst 22 states and the District of Columbia that have enacted shield laws to protect both patients and providers of abortion services from legal action initiated by states that impose restrictions on the procedure.
Nevertheless, Albert Fox Cahn, an expert in privacy law and executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, argues that as long as such data is shared, the risk of it being misused remains. “We are effectively relying on a system where police assert they are using this data for the right reasons and express surprise when it’s utilized improperly,” Cahn remarked.
Giannoulias reported that the police department in Mount Prospect, located 24 miles northwest of Chicago, had transmitted license-plate data to a sheriff in Johnson County, Texas. This occurred during a search for a woman whose family expressed concern following a self-administered abortion.
Moreover, Mount Prospect reportedly shared information with entities outside of Illinois regarding undocumented immigrants, which is also against the law. It was noted that from mid-January through April, 262 searches related to immigration matters were conducted by Mount Prospect alone.
Attempts to contact Mount Prospect Police Chief Michael Eterno via phone and email have not been successful. Deputy Secretary of State Scott Burnham indicated that Mount Prospect could face a withdrawal of state funding due to these transgressions.
The website 404 Media initially broke the story, revealing the nationwide data request from the Texas sheriff. This request tapped into a network of 83,000 cameras managed by the private organization Flock Safety, which includes coverage in Mount Prospect.
Upon request from Giannoulias, Flock Safety took action to block 62 non-state agencies from accessing data related to abortion and immigration. Additionally, terms such as “abortion” and “immigration” will trigger red flags in their system, prompting a denial of such access requests.
Furthermore, police agencies in Illinois will be subject to compliance with audits conducted by the Secretary of State, aiming to identify any trends or surges in related data requests.
Flock Safety’s technology employs Automatic License Plate Recognition, enabling the photographing of passing license plates thousands of times each day. This development is primarily used for tracking purposes, such as locating stolen vehicles, addressing carjackings, and finding missing persons.
The capacity of this technology allows law enforcement to read numerous license plates per minute from images captured by cameras across roads. The Illinois legislation, a pioneering effort in the nation led by Giannoulias, restricts the dissemination of such data, aligning with the broader legislative measures by Democrats to fortify abortion rights in the state following Roe v. Wade’s reversal.