By JERRY NOWICKI
A pair of bills on Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk would expand a state roadway camera monitoring program to 21 additional counties while also expanding the number of crimes the cameras can be used to investigate and the number of parties that can prosecute them.
The measures – House Bill 260 and House Bill 4481 – were among 80 bills that cleared the General Assembly in the final 24-hour stretch of a legislative session in which Democrats looked to bolster their voting records on crime.
They expand a pilot program that directs the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Illinois State Police and the Illinois Toll Highway Authority to increase the number of cameras on state roads through funding from the state’s Road Fund. The underlying program was launched in 2020 in response to expressway shootings. ISP has recorded 580 such shootings since 2019, including 72 this year.
In February, Pritzker appeared alongside ISP Director Brendan Kelly to publicize more than 20 arrests related to expressway crime due to an increased law enforcement focus. But Melaney Arnold, an ISP spokesperson, said at this time the department was unable to quantify the number of crimes solved by expressway cameras due to the number of open investigations and pending charges.
“Since installation of (automatic license plate readers) in the Chicago area, our investigators in Cook County have used ALPRs, in addition to other information and evidence, as part of every investigation,” she said in an email.
The bills received the backing of ISP, the state’s attorney general and broad majorities in the legislature.
But civil liberties advocates and lawmakers from each party aired concerns about potential misuse of the cameras, a lack of clarity regarding how camera placements will be chosen, and that an individual would be prohibited from accessing their own camera footage via the Freedom of Information Act.
“Although these tools can provide some public benefit, the risk is that they’re susceptible to abuse and have a chilling effect on public life,” Sen. Jason Barickman, R-Bloomington, said in an interview.
It’s a concern that Rep. Ann Williams, a Chicago Democrat and House sponsor of HB 260, said she considered when carrying the bill.
“Historically, I’ve been one to be very concerned about ensuring that we don’t surveil society – that should not be our law enforcement approach,” she said in an interview. “But targeted use of cameras that are limited in use and narrow in scope, …it’s about violent crimes that concern people every day, and the way to hopefully address those.”
Capitol News Illinois
