The Homer Glen Village Board is reconsidering installing license plate reader cameras in town, two years after residents opposed them in an advisory referendum.
Homer Glen Mayor Christina Neitzke-Troike said she felt there were misconceptions and rumors circulating in 2023 when the Village Board asked residents to vote on whether they supported the cameras, which assist police in solving crimes or locating missing persons.
During the spring 2023 election, about 60.4% of Homer Glen residents opposed the license plate cameras, according to the Will County clerk’s office. The question was advisory only.
Neitzke-Troike said she believed residents at the time were unsure of what the cameras would do, who would have access to the data and if it would be the case of Big Brother or an invasion of privacy.
More Top Picks Best Tvs
She said some residents have since asked for the cameras to be installed.
Several village officials noted that an armed vehicle theft in a Homer Glen driveway in July was solved by a neighboring town’s Flock Safety cameras. Flock Safety is one of the largest automated license plate recognition camera companies in the country.
The discussion comes as Flock Safety has come under fire from Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, whose office discovered that U.S. Customs and Border Protection gained access to Illinois license plate camera data, a violation of the state law his office initiated.
Giannoulias ordered the company to shut off access to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, his office said in a news release Monday. Giannoulias also has ordered Flock Safety to block outside law enforcement from seeking Illinois data related to abortion and immigration, the news release said.
Flock Safety works with 29 Will County agencies, including police departments and institutions such as Joliet Junior College and the Will County Forest Preserve District, said Dan Murdock, the company’s Illinois sales manager. More than 200 communities across Illinois use Flock cameras and share information with one another, he said.
The cameras pick up on the make, color, type of vehicle, location and direction of travel in real time and can share that information with law enforcement partners.
The data is stored for 30 days and then erased, but can be kept for evidence in a crime.
The license plate readers are not used for traffic violations, such as speeding or red light violations, Murdock said.
He said the cameras can also be used to help locate missing or endangered people from children to the elderly.
Trustee Curt Mason said he is concerned that Homer Glen is one of the few municipalities that don’t have Flock cameras.
“We’re the black hole,” he said. “New Lenox has it. Lemont has it. Mokena has it. Tinley has it. Everybody but us.”
He said he believes it will be money well spent.
Trustee Nick Muller, a sergeant with the Oak Forest Police Department, said he believes the cameras can act as a deterrent for criminals.
Trustee Robert Schaller, a former police chief for the Willowbrook Police Department, said he’s in favor of the cameras.
Because residents opposed the cameras in a referendum, Neitzke-Troike said she wants to make sure they are well-informed before the Village Board takes any action.
Officials cited several ways to gauge residents’ interest, including surveys, community workshops, social media or another advisory referendum in the spring.
Schaller said he didn’t want to wait to vote on the license plate reader cameras until the March 17 general primary.
“I don’t believe putting off resident safety and solving crime,” he said. “I think this should be fast-tracked.”
Giannoulias called on police departments to re-examine their agreements with Flock to ensure they do not violate the state’s Trust Act, which restricts local law enforcement with collaborating with federal authorities, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, on immigration enforcement without a court warrant, the release said.
The Oak Park Village Board voted Aug. 5 to terminate its contract with Flock Safety, and the Evanston City Council voted Wednesday to do the same.
Before reaching a final decision, Homer Glen officials said they want to get more resident feedback and information, such as whether the Will County sheriff’s office, which provides Homer Glen’s police service, would help fund the cameras.
More Top Picks Amazon Basics 24 Sheet Cross Cut
The Homer Glen Village Board planned to install the Flock camera system in 2022, but ended up canceling the project after delays getting permits from the Illinois Department of Transportation. Privacy concerns brought up by residents during this period led to the advisory referendum.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.