On Sept. 3, Mayor Rory Hoskins got a call from someone representing Motorola Solutions — a technology company that provides security products and services — who alerted him that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had unauthorized access to Forest Park’s automated license plate reader data.
Hoskins immediately contacted Village Administrator Rachell Entler, who pulled together Forest Park police leadership and someone from Motorola Solutions to address the situation.
“It was determined that, on April 5, 2024, a Forest Park Police Department detective, while conducting an arson investigation, inadvertently accepted over 200 data-sharing requests from various law enforcement agencies. Among these requests was one submitted by ICE,” village officials said in a Sept. 5 statement.
“As soon as we realized [this week] that this error occurred, [Motorola Solutions has] taken measures to shut off access, so ICE no longer has access to data from the license plate readers,” Hoskins told the Review. “I think the concern is that, given the current climate with rumors of the National Guard coming, with ICE enforcement on the increase, that this happened and that ICE had access.”
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have both recently spoken out against the potential increase of federal agents in Chicago, perhaps as soon as this weekend. Forest Park officials assure locals that area police have been instructed to uphold the Illinois Trust Act, which states that local law enforcement is prohibited from participating in immigration enforcement.
“The department is well aware of its obligations under the Illinois Trust Act,” Hoskins said, adding that “it’s pretty routine for a department like Forest Park to share information with other law enforcement agencies.”
“Upon confirmation of the violation, the Village of Forest Park took immediate corrective action to ensure full compliance with state law. The village remains committed to protecting the privacy and civil liberties of all individuals and will continue to work closely with state authorities to strengthen safeguards around ALPR data usage,” the village’s statement said. “We appreciate the diligence of the Secretary of State’s Office and Motorola Solutions in identifying and addressing this issue. The village will continue to review its internal protocols to prevent any future unauthorized data sharing.”
On Sept. 5, Secretary of State of Illinois Alexi Giannoulias sent out a press release reporting that, during one of his office’s audits, officials found that Forest Park was sharing automated license plate reader data with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
“License plate reading cameras serve as powerful surveillance technology, and as Secretary of State, I’m committed to ensuring that everyone involved in data sharing is following the law and protecting Illinoisans’ right to privacy,” Giannoulias said in a statement. “These audits are one of the most important tools we have to ensure accountability and compliance with Illinois law, and our office will continue to conduct them in an effort to protect people’s private data.”
According to the Secretary of State’s press release, Giannoulias directed Motorola Solutions to work with the village to turn off data sharing capabilities with ICE and other federal agencies.
This isn’t the first time the Secretary of State has caught security issues with license plate reader data.
On Aug. 25, the Office of the Secretary of State reported that an audit revealed that Flock Safety, which operates the largest automated license plate reader system in the nation, allowed Customs and Border Protection to access its cameras. Giannoulias ordered access to the governmental agency to be shut down immediately. Since, Flock halted a nationwide project to share data with federal agencies.
The Secretary of State’s audits came out of his efforts to amend the Illinois Vehicle Code two years ago. The amendment prohibits sharing data from license plate readers with agencies who investigate people based on their immigration status or whether they access lawful healthcare services, like abortions.
