The city of Evanston deactivated its 19 license plate reading cameras Tuesday, Aug. 26, after a state official said on Aug. 25 that Flock Safety, which operates the cameras, had shared information about vehicles in Evanston with federal immigration agencies.
Following mounting concerns that drivers could be under surveillance by federal authorities, Evanston also terminated its contract with Flock Safety effective Sept. 26, and any remaining payments the city owes the company are still to be determined. Until that date, Evanston police will still receive license plate tracking information from other jurisdictions but Evanston will not share its own license plate tracking.
The moves amplify a debate that has dogged the many suburbs that have decided to contract with Flock Safety over the past few years: police say the license plate reading cameras can help solve crime by tracking criminal suspects, but critics have raised the alarm that the cameras track everyone — including people seeking abortions or gender-assignment medical care, as well as immigrants — and they raise privacy concerns.
On Aug. 25, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced that an audit conducted by his office found that U.S. Customs and Border Protection was able to utilize Flock Safety data to monitor drivers in Illinois.
Responding to that, a City of Evanston news release said, “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.”
A Flock spokesperson downplayed concerns about threats to privacy, however, and wrote to Pioneer Press in an email, “We believe that Evanston’s recent decisions are based on a misunderstanding of the situation. We hope to address their concerns and resume our partnership, which we are proud to say has reduced crime in that community and made it safer.”
Flock recently put a hold on the company’s pilot programs with the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection and its law enforcement arm, Homeland Security Investigations, according to a statement by its founder and CEO, Garrett Langley.
Langley said the company initiated pilot programs with CBP and HSI to help combat human trafficking and fentanyl distribution. The company is unaware of any immigration-related searches the federal immigration agencies made, but Langley said parameters were unclear.
“We clearly communicated poorly. We also didn’t create distinct permissions and protocols in the Flock system to ensure local compliance for federal agency users,” Langley said.
Oak Park also terminated its contract with Flock on Aug. 5, but unlike Oak Park, the Evanston City Council did not vote to do so.
Instead, in an email obtained by Pioneer Press though the Freedom of Information Act, Evanston Police Chief Schenita Stewart wrote to City Manager Luke Stowe and Corporation Counsel Alexandra Ruggie that she directed staff to deactivate all of the city’s Flock cameras on Aug. 26.
Stewart wrote, “Based on the Secretary of State’s findings and Flock’s own public statement, the City’s Legal Department will review Flock’s actions to determine whether they breached their contract with the City of Evanston. The Evanston Police Department recognizes that no program is entirely error-free; however, Flock’s actions, as described in their statement, fall outside what we consider acceptable error.”
Jessica Mayo, the city’s Community and Employee Engagement coordinator, said the administrative decision did not require approval by the City Council.
Mayo added that the city’s code allows the city to terminate a contract in cases where a contract violates local and state law.
Also according to the Freedom of Information Act results, Stowe wrote to the city’s legal department, communication team, City Council and mayor around midday on Aug. 26, “Chief Stewart and I have spoken several times since the release of the ILSOS (Illinois Secretary of State) Flock report yesterday. Chief and I have serious concerns about the ILSOS audit findings. Last night, I asked Corporation Counsel Ruggie to review our agreement and the circumstances to explore the options we may have to terminate it,” he wrote.
From the legal vantage point, Ruggie wrote, in a letter dated Aug. 26 to the city’s main Flock contact Mike Hutton, “Flock unlawfully made data collected within Evanston and the State of Illinois available to federal agencies — an act that is in direct breach of the Terms and Conditions of our agreement. This is not a procedural error; it is an intentional and unauthorized disclosure of protected data.”
“Let it be absolutely clear: this breach is material, intentional, and cannot be cured,” Ruggie wrote after declaring the city’s contract will be terminated next month. “The City will not entertain remediation efforts or renegotiation. Flock’s actions represent a fundamental violation of public trust and legal obligations, and any further unauthorized activity related to data sharing will be treated as a continuing violation subject to legal consequences.”
Per the city’s five-year contract with Flock, renewed in January 2024, the city pays flock $48,500 annually for the company’s services. The Flock spokesperson said Flock cannot comment on ongoing contracts. Mayo said because the situation is an ongoing legal matter, the city cannot further comment on its financial obligation to its contract.
Flock disputes that it broke Illinois law, according to a Flock spokesperson.
“Flock does not own or control access to customer data. Agencies are in complete control of who can access their system, what sharing permissions (if any) they grant, and under what conditions they share that data. Cities can choose the data sharing relationships that are in compliance with their local laws and policies, and align with their community’s values. We are continuously enhancing those capabilities to ensure they are as easy and seamless as possible for our end users,” the spokesperson said in an email.
“It is important to note that the information audited by the IL SoS (Secretary of State) was generated by our system, through audits that we built deliberately to provide accountability and transparency. Every single search conducted in the Flock LPR (license plate reading) system is preserved permanently in an audit report. This is not a legal requirement for Flock in most jurisdictions, nor is it something that all LPR vendors do. By making auditing the default, we are enabling oversight and accountability.”
Before the city terminated its contract with Flock Safety, the police department minimized its data sharing on Aug. 18 from most Illinois agencies to only 11 nearby municipalities it shares its police resources with under the North Regional Major Crimes Task Force, according to an email exchange between Stewart and Stowe. Those municipalities include Glencoe, Glenview, Kenilworth, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Northbrook, Northfield, Skokie, Wilmette and Winnetka.
Evanston Police Sergeant Tom Giese, who manages EPD’s license plate reader system, has said the technology makes Evanston safer and has contributed to arrests ranging from hit-and-runs to murders.
Wilmette also uses Flock for its automatic license plate reading cameras. Wilmette Village Manager Michael Braiman told Pioneer Press that the village is diligent with its data management to ensure that out of state and federal agencies do not have access to locally collected data.
Wilmette chose Flock as a vendor because of their assurances they could align with the village’s strict local data sharing restrictions, he said.
“While this technology continues to be a useful public safety tool, the village will continue to regularly audit access logs to ensure that Flock follows through on their contractual commitments to Wilmette.”
